/ 22 March 1999

BELL TRUCKS IN US DEAL

UNITED States construction firm firm John Deere Construction and Engineering Company said on Thursday it plans to take a stake in Bell Equipment and get exclusive rights to distribute the South African engineering company’s articulated dump trucks in the Americas. The deal will see Deere inject about R180-million in equity into Bell in exchange for exclusive branding and distribution rights for Bell’s trucks — which are used for off-highway construction and mining. The trucks will carry the John Deere brand and will continue to be manufactured at Bell’s facility in Richards Bay.