FWD/Seagrave Holdings L.P., the owner of Seagrave Fire Apparatus, has acquired Schmidt Engineering & Equipment Inc. (SEE) of New Berlin, Wis.

SEE manufactures Wausau and Snogo brands of heavy-duty snow management tools.
FWD/Seagrave Holdings is acquiring 100% of the stock of SEE from its former owners. Rod Winter, its former chief operating officer and chief financial officer, has been named SEE president and chief operating officer. Peter Tiffe will continue as the company’s vice president of sales and marketing. SEE will be a sister company to Seagrave Fire Apparatus, based in Clintonville, Wis. SEE’s corporate offices and manufacturing plant will remain in New Berlin, Wis.
"SEE is a leader in the snow removal business, which fits strategically with our plan to build a diversified vocational truck manufacturing company," said Jim Hebe, who has been named chairman and chief executive officer of SEE, in addition to president and CEO of Seagrave Fire Apparatus. "We are building a company that leverages the strengths of Seagrave Fire Apparatus, and paves the way for the reintroduction of the FWD heavy-duty chassis, a vocational chassis product line built in Clintonville, Wis. since 1910."
SEE was founded in 1978 and its products include: Wausau city street and highway plows, Wausau airport plows, Wausau tunnel washing machines, and Wausau/Snogo loader-mounted and chassis-mounted snow blowers.
"SEE’s workforce, including the management team and key sales and service personnel, will continue under the new ownership, and its customers can expect the same high level of quality and customer care," said Rod Winter, president of SEE.
"The markets that SEE and Seagrave serve are complementary, which will allow us to leverage our combined assets, systems and development to better serve our dealers and customers," Hebe added. "We intend to develop a chassis and snow removal equipment line complementary to and expanding on what Schmidt offers today."
Hebe said he expects FWD/Seagrave Holdings to pursue other acquisitions to build its position in vocational niche markets. "This is part of an ongoing strategy to build a full line of vocational products and strong service support through dealer networks under the FWD/Seagrave umbrella," Hebe said.
For more information, visit the Seagrave web site at www.seagrave.com.