Empire Southwest, the Caterpillar dealer serving Arizona and southeastern California, has acquired Cashman Equipment, the Cat dealer serving Nevada and parts of eastern California.
The transaction is expected to close in December 2022. The combined company will be led by Empire’s current CEO Jeff Whiteman. All Cashman and Empire employees will be retained.
Empire and Cashman are both third-generation, family-owned Cat dealers and share similar corporate cultures and reputations for customer service, according to a press release.
Empire, which was founded in 1950, operates 22 dealership locations; Cashman, founded in 1931, operates 7 locations.
“We have tremendous respect and admiration for MaryKaye Cashman and her team,” said Jeff Whiteman, Empire president/CEO, in a statement. “Cashman is a very high performing dealership that has been dedicated to their people, customers, and communities for generations. We are honored and humbled by the trust MaryKaye and Caterpillar have placed in us. Like Empire, the Cashman organization is full of amazing men and women who are committed to making things better. I’m confident that the new combined team will take the business in both service territories to new levels of client success by building on the industry-leading strengths of both dealerships.”
MaryKaye Cashman, who serves as owner, CEO, and chairman of Cashman Equipment, said in a statement:
“Since taking the reins of the company in 1995, I have dedicated my life to Cashman Equipment and our fantastic team, which has done such exceptional work supporting our customers and rallying around me in my unique and new role as the head of a Cat dealership. Empire has long had a reputation for excellence among Cat dealers and, as I pursue a new chapter in my life, it is an exciting opportunity for our teams to be able to join forces. I have known the Whiteman family for decades and appreciate not just what their company does but how they have built it—with honesty, respect, and integrity, and with employees and customers always at the center. Our cultures and values share a lot of common ground, and I know that our team members will thrive in this new, combined business that will deliver even more for the customers and communities we serve.”
Sources: Empire Southwest, Cashman Equipment
