Hawke’s Bay farming equipment manufacturer Hustler Equipment specialised in feeding, handling and spraying gear, announced the recent acquisition of the production facilities of McLaren Stainless, an engineering business industry leader in food processing equipment for three generations since 1919.

The acquisition of McLaren Stainless’ manufacturing plant and assets is the natural result of many years of active business collaboration between the two companies, McLaren having provided Hustler with extensive expertise in subcontracted fabrication, plate processing and machining.

“This was a logical step to overcome some of the current supply chain challenges in the industry and to help us keep up with the global demand for Hustler’s innovation,” explains Brent Currie, CEO of Hustler Equipment.

The modern ex-McLaren Stainless’ building located on Manchester Street, Hastings provides an additional 4,000m² of office, fabrication, plate processing and machining space to the current 8,000m² of siteworks at Hustler’s global headquarters on Omahu Road, Hastings. Thus, Hustler intends to get ahead of the difficulties faced by the manufacturing industry in the global supply chain in virtually doubling its domestic production fabrication capacities.

“This new development enables us to expand our manufacturing and innovation capabilities and provides us with more in control of our supply chain, raw material inventories,” continues Brent Currie.

“I’m now excited to focus more of my resources on product design and innovation within Hustler after many years of excellent business partnership,” says Rob McLaren, ex-CEO of McLaren Stainless.

With this acquisition, Hustler continues its rapid domestic and international growth. Having also retained key McLaren Stainless staff, Hustler is now confidently looking forward to the launch of several new product lines later this year, including feeding and handling equipment. This comes off the back of Hustler’s recent opening of an office and assembly plant in the United Kingdom, designated to building products specifically created to meet the needs of European farmers.

“It’s the same everywhere and for any brand, farmers are experiencing months and months of delay before getting their new gear. Feeding out equipment is crucial for the farming industry as the global demand for dairy and meat products is steadily increasing. We reached a point where it became necessary to find a solution to meet the demand of the farmers who did a fantastic job, keeping feeding the world in a pandemic context. Now, we must do our bit to help them to keep going by continuing to provide quickly available, innovative farming equipment and great customer service,” concludes Brent Currie.

From humble beginnings on a farm in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand, Hustler Equipment who just celebrated their 60th anniversary last year, has grown its business on global demand, by staying at the forefront of an industry where technological developments are constantly emerging and discerning buyers are seeking to improve their efficiencies. Hustler Equipment headquartered in Hastings, New Zealand has national offices and warehouses in Australia, in the United States, in the United Kingdom and in France.