Winn, Mich. – Amidst much excitement and fanfare, the first Boxer compact utility loader rolled off the Morbark®, Inc., production line. Morbark, a leading manufacturer of tree care, sawmill, recycling, forestry and biomass chipping and grinding equipment, had acquired Boxer® Equipment, a product line of Mertz Manufacturing, LLC at the end of 2012.
Morbark’s staff gathered to watch as the first Boxer unit completed at the Morbark factory in Winn, Mich., a model 320 compact loader, was unveiled with a boxing-themed introduction.
“It’s been an amazing journey and a real testament to the teamwork and dedication of our staff,” Jim Shoemaker, Jr., President, Morbark, Inc., said. “In the 84 days since we received the intellectual property, we have moved inventory from Oklahoma to Michigan, invested in additional long-lead inventory, set up aftermarket parts and service support for existing Boxer customers, created a production line—including weld and assembly fixtures—created marketing material, completed our first dealer training sessions, and today, completed the production of our first unit. A lot of people played a role in making this a reality. In fact, I sat down and started listing the Morbark employees who have played a role in helping with the Boxer acquisition and production line, and I stopped counting at 50. It was truly amazing how many of the team came together to pull this off.”
Currently Morbark is working to fill Boxer back orders, as well as working with their authorized dealer network and previous Boxer dealers to ensure that customers receive unmatched service, after-sales support and fast, efficient parts fulfillment. In June, Morbark is scheduled to reach its full production capacity.
“This product line will fit like a glove with the rest of the tree care products that we make,” continued Shoemaker, “as well as allow Morbark, our dealers and our customers to penetrate new markets and create new opportunities for their businesses.”
About Morbark, Inc.
Morbark, Inc., based in Winn, Michigan, builds equipment that creates opportunities for customers serving the forestry, recycling, sawmill, bio-energy, landscaping/irrigation, rental and tree care markets. Innovating and building durable and high-performance equipment for more than 50 years, Morbark offers a full line of flails, disc and drum tree chippers, brush chippers, horizontal and tub grinders, stump grinders and more. Morbark equipment helps customers harvest, process and convert organic materials into valuable, usable and environmentally sound products. Morbark offers worldwide sales, support and service through an independent, authorized dealer network. To learn more about the company, visit www.morbark.com.
About Boxer Equipment
Boxer equipment has four model series available, including the 118 dedicated trencher and the 300, 400 and 500 series, which are built to handle a full complement of more than 50 universal compact utility attachments. The Boxer’s standard quick attach system enables the user to quickly and easily switch from a bucket to forks to auger or other tools for optimum on-the-job flexibility and bottom line performance. A feature unique to the Boxer 500 series is its variable-width, rubber track undercarriage, which allows the units to enter through gates as narrow as three feet wide. For complete Boxer Equipment product information, go to www.boxerequipment.com.