The combined company will be rebranded as TRULAND Equipment.

“This partnership was a several-year process, and we really took our time to make sure this was a good fit for our two companies as well as for our customers,” Kenn-Feld Group CEO Tom Burenga said in the release. “By combining our experience and capabilities, we are building a strong organization that is better positioned to thrive while offering an expanded product portfolio to our customers.”

The merger brings together 18 John Deere locations across Indiana and Ohio. A spokesperson for the company told Inside INdiana Business there are no plans to transfer staff between the two companies’ existing headquarters.

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Established in 1946 and headquartered in Davis, Calif., FWEDA is a trade association representing the business interests of agricultural, industrial, material handling, hardware, outdoor power and rental equipment dealers in Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming. AED is an international association based in the Chicago suburb of Schaumburg, Ill, representing companies involved in the sale, rental, manufacturing and support of equipment used in construction, mining, forestry, power generation, agriculture and industrial applications.

The board members of FWEDA, which rejected a merger with another association last year, took several things into consideration in exploring the opportunity to merge with AED, said Joani Woelfel, president and CEO, FWEDA. Its members will gain access to the full range of AED resources and benefits including benchmarking reports, employee education, seminars, technical assessments and legal call counsel. AED will also continue to provide state lobbying efforts in the states served by FWEDA in addition to its advocacy at the national level.

“AED provides optimal benefits and resources for our members,” Woelfel said, “and the brightest outlook for the future.”

For its part, AED sees the union as confirmation of its commitment to grow its representation among agricultural equipment distributors, which currently stands at 22% of the membership total.

The merger is expected to be a seamless transition for FWEDA and is scheduled to be finalized by the end of August.

“We look forward to assimilating FWEDA members into the AED family and helping them meet the challenges of operating successful businesses,” said AED Chairman Matt Di Iorio.

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