After operating on the continent for ten years through its importer, MERLO AMERICA, LLC (MUS), headquartered in Rock Hill, South Carolina, has now opened its doors. Together with its telehandlers, the Cuneo-based company will also be exporting all of its Made in Italy quality.
Merlo increases its overseas market share, and makes landfall in the United States, where, after operating through an importer for ten years, it will have its own official headquarters in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
This event further consolidates the Cuneo-based company’s presence within the global agricultural and industrial mechanization sector, with growth fostered by a well-structured business plan (2022-2025), complete with in-house digital modernizations at the San Defendente facility, and investments in research and development. Stated goal: to increase production from 8 to 10 thousand machines per year, in order to meet the market’s demand.
The Rock Hill location will be a sales and marketing hub dedicated to further overseeing the current customers on the market, where global technical assistance will be offered, as well as highly specialized training courses, in order to establish new potential dealers. Merlo intends to bolster its presence in the U.S., which is currently centered around rentals and construction equipment, with top of the line units, such as High Capacity and Rotary telehandlers. The challenge will also be to further increase its presence on the agricultural market, where Merlo intends to increase its market share by exporting the Turbofarmer and Multifarmer ranges. For the new U.S. project, a workforce expansion is also in the works, with 20+ employees expected by the end of the year.
Heading up MERLO AMERICA, LLC (MUS) is General Manager Mr. Cole Renken, a former expert on the U.S. industrial mechanical market. Boasting extensive experience and proven leadership skills in the industry, Cole Renken has previously gained and applied extensive operational management skills in the earthmoving, construction, and agricultural machinery sectors, with a focus on team performance and customer relations. His professional history includes major internationally recognized groups, such as CNH Industrial, Volvo CE, and BOMAG Americas, among others.
"Merlo America is committed to delivering exceptional value and unparalleled support to our customers in the construction, rental, and agriculture industries. Our strategic investment in expanded parts inventory, advanced technical services, and comprehensive product training demonstrates our dedication to meeting the specific needs of the US market. Through this focused approach, Merlo America will become one of the most trusted and relied-upon telehandler partners in the US,” says Cole Renken, GM of Merlo USA.
The U.S. location joins six other foreign branches, in France, Germany, England, Spain, Poland, and Australia, which, in turn, are supported by a global distribution network consisting of more than 80 importers and 600 dealers, offering widespread coverage in terms of sales, service, and spare parts. Of the 8,700 machines produced in 2023 (7,500 telehandlers and 700 compactors), more than 80% were exported, thus attesting to the company’s Made in Italy quality, which the global market continues to recognize and reward.
“The establishment of an official location in the United States has been an extremely important and ambitious goal for Merlo,” explains Paolo Merlo, President and CEO of Merlo Group. Our telehandlers are already well known in the States, but we still have considerable opportunities for growth, especially in the agricultural sector.”
