BlueLine equipment on a job at Adriatica Village in McKinney, Texas

Equipment provider BlueLine Rental LLC envisions its pending acquisition of aerial lift specialist Trico Lift as complementing BlueLine's mix of equipment and customers. No terms of the definitive agreement were disclosed.

A fund of private investment firm Platinum Equity LLC of Beverly Hills, California owns BlueLine Rental, which became the new identity for Volvo Construction Equipment Rents Inc after Platinum acquired the business subsidiary from AB Volvo of Sweden in January 2014. In another accretive add-on rental equipment investment, BlueLine acquired JustRuss Rental Inc of Calera, Alabama in September 2014.

Platinum Equity has completed more than 150 business acquisitions since 1995.

Trico Lift has its headquarters in Mickleton, New Jersey and other locations in South Plainfield, New Jersey; King of Prussia, Pennsylvania; Baltimore, Maryland; and Tomball and San Antonio, Texas and works with boom lifts, scissor lifts and rough-terrain and telescopic forklifts.

The addition of Trico Lift "will strengthen our aerial fleet mix and capabilities, provide access to a valuable new customer base in key regions and position us well for future growth", says Phillip H Hobson, chief executive officer of Shippensburg-based BlueLine. "Our businesses are a good fit culturally as well."

Excluding the Trico locations, BlueLine currently operates more than 130 rental stores in North America, serving customers needing equipment for construction, commercial and industrial applications.

Senior Trico managers are expected to stay on with BlueLine in management roles. Trico Lift represents Genie, JLG and MEC aerial work platforms.

In 1952, Joe Pustizzi started the business that evolved into Trico Lift. His son, Ken Pustizzi, retired in early 2013 with Chris Carmolingo becoming Trico Lift CEO and president.