KOHLER, Wis. — Kohler Co. announces that its Power Group has signed an agreement to acquire multinational Curtis Instruments, headquartered in Mount Kisco, New York. Curtis is an electrification partner to OEMs across a broad range of markets including material handling, golf and recreational vehicles, mobile elevated work platforms, construction, agriculture, turf care, marine and select on-road segments. Founded in 1960, the company employs approximately 1,100 individuals and operates in 16 countries, including manufacturing locations in Puerto Rico, Bulgaria, China and India.

Curtis’ product portfolio spans motor speed controllers, HMIs and instrumentation, power conversion, CAN modules and other accessories. With a deep roster of talent across five engineering centers, Curtis also develops advanced software solutions for its customers. The acquisition expands and diversifies Kohler’s power portfolio by leveraging Curtis’ electrification expertise with Kohler’s well-established gasoline and diesel engine business to serve off-highway OEM customers. Curtis Instruments will operate as a standalone entity within the Kohler Power Group with Stuart Marwell, president, reporting to Brian Melka, group president – power. Kohler Power and Curtis now have more than 160 years of combined technical experience in energy management solutions. Terms of the agreement are not disclosed.

The transaction is announced just days following Kohler’s acquisition of Heila Technologies – a microgrid software controls company – and the creation of a separate Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS) business unit focused on residential energy storage.

“We’re excited to welcome Curtis Instruments to our Kohler Power organization. This business, under the leadership of Stuart and Nick Marwell, is highly regarded for its market-leading position and expertise in electric and hybrid off-highway applications,” Melka said. “For more than 100 years, Kohler has been a preferred source of power for homes, businesses, and equipment, and integrating the Kohler and Curtis product portfolios and existing OEM relationships will create substantial growth opportunities for both brands. With this acquisition, we are leveraging our history of trusted expertise in power resiliency, as clean energy continues to play a crucial role in the continued expansion of Kohler Power.”

“Our entire Curtis Instruments organization is excited to join the Kohler Company of global businesses and be part of a forward-thinking privately held company,” Marwell said. “We were drawn to Kohler because of its nearly 150-year history of strong family leadership and innovation, as well as its commitment to embracing the growing shift to electrification and hybridization. We are excited to help lead this next chapter for Kohler. Kohler and Curtis brands both stand for quality, innovation and commitment to long-term customer success.”

BEDFORD HILLS, NY — SavATree has merged with Nels Johnson Tree Experts, an Illinois-based tree care company. This merger broadens SavATree’s presence in the Midwest market, serving customers throughout Chicagoland and Northern Illinois.

Nels Johnson Tree Experts has operated since 1930. Owners of Nels Johnson Tree Experts, Erik and John Johnson, along with their team, will remain on board with SavATree.

“Ensuring the continuity of our personalized care and attention was important to us. Our commitment to quality is something that we weren’t willing to sacrifice, and we knew that merging with SavATree wouldn’t compromise our premiere client relationships," Erik Johnson said. "We look forward to impressing customers with the same great quality of work and high level of customer service they’ve always received, just under a new canopy now with superior resources."

READ MORE: Apax Funds acquired SavATree in 2021 | Where did SavATree rank on our Top 100 list?

“We are excited to partner with the oldest family owned and operated tree and plant health care company in Chicagoland," said SavATree CEO Carmine Schiavone. "Joining forces with Nels Johnson Tree Experts further assists us in building a strong base in the Midwest, as this merger marks our fourth location in Illinois. Everyone at SavATree is looking forward to keeping this near century old business thriving."

• Integrated touchscreen infotainment system delivers automotive-grade smartphone integration, rear-facing camera, Bluetooth wireless connectivity, AM/FM, and SiriusXM satellite radio.
• Memorable audio experience with a seven-speaker sound system, professionally tuned by Harmon 
• Rear-facing camera displays image on the infotainment screen with the push of a button to provide better visibility when attaching trailers or spreading materials like seed or salt.
• Bumper Pro Brush Guard protects the front of the vehicle, provides rubber bumpers for pushing gates, and features a center screen to keep debris from entering the radiator
• Front roof-mounted LED driving lights
• Rear-sliding window

DENVER, Colo. — OnTerra Systems, the developers of RouteSavvy route planning software for small businesses, announced January 2022 RouteSavvy software enhancements. The new January 2022 version of RouteSavvy provides more features and functions for delivery management.

Highlights of January 2022 RouteSavvy software enhancements include the following:

• New Route Cloning Function – Users have always been able to create new routes and edit existing routes. RouteSavvy’s new route cloning function is simply a faster way to create a new route based by cloning an existing route and then making additional changes.
• Address Auto populate Function – RouteSavvy now offers a more powerful address look-up function. Users can start typing the address of a new stop, and RouteSavvy automatically will suggest address options for users to choose based on their IP address and geographic location. RouteSavvy will provide a dropdown list of nearby options that can be chosen – speeding the process of adding individual addresses to a route. RouteSavvy also features points of interest, i.e., landmarks that might require deliveries, pickups, sales calls, or service calls which don’t have a specific address. Examples include parks, golf courses, dumpsters, any business location and more.
• Enhanced Route Line Display – RouteSavvy now can display a route on top of territories, delivery radiuses, or other shapes on the map. This allows route planners to better determine if stops should be moved from one route to another because they can see whether a route is encompassed within one specific territory or if the route crosses into other territories.
• Quick Zoom Function – When users add a new address into RouteSavvy for route planning, they can use a new function to zoom to that location on the map with one click.
• Drive Distance & Drive Time Now Exportable – Once RouteSavvy has generated an optimized route, that route can either be printed and given to drivers or exported to a driver’s cell phone or tablet to be synched with a turn-by-turn navigation system. As part of the route export process, drive distance & drive time data now will be exported.
• Support For SSL – RouteSavvy is unique in that routing information is stored with the user’s browser. This preserves security because sensitive data is not stored on a central RouteSavvy nor does it travel over the internet, thus reducing the need to use SSL encryption. However, for those businesses or non-profits that would prefer to be operating on an SSL designation, RouteSavvy now offers that option.
  

“The pandemic has driven a huge shift toward local home delivery of everything from groceries to alcohol – and RouteSavvy has been enhanced to provide more delivery management functionality – as well as just being even easier to use and deploy,” said Steve Milroy, president of OnTerra Systems. “Whether businesses or non-profits are involved in deliveries, pick-ups, service calls, or sales calls, the January 2022 version of RouteSavvy provides powerful, affordable route planning capabilities that are ideal for small & mid-sized businesses and provide exceptional value and return on investment.”