Waco-based Equipment Depot has acquired Houston-based Southline Equipment Company for an undisclosed price.

Both are Texas-based, began as Clark forklift dealers, and share the same business ethos.

Equipment Depot founder and president Don Moes said the acquisition extended the company's reach into the Houston market.

"We now have the regional reach we need to service and support our large customers that have operations throughout Texas," Moes said.

Southline has been a Clark forklift dealer since 1962. For more than 10 years it has also been a dealer for Linde, Daewoo and Princeton forklifts and, in 2002, became one of the first US Combilift dealers.

It has more than 100 employees at its Houston, Beaumont and Freeport locations.

Equipment Depot is a rapidly growing materials handling company in southwest USA. Following the acquisition, it now has more than 560 employees operating from 12 facilities and four service depots along the Interstate 35 corridor, the Rio Grande valley and the Gulf Coast. With annual revenues exceeding USD150 million, it is one of Texas's largest materials handling companies.

Moes said Equipment Depot was also a major construction rental company in the region.

The acquisition allows Equipment Depot to deploy forklifts closer to its Houston and Gulf Coast customers and to add more rental construction equipment at Southline locations.

That could help Southline locations weather fluctuations in the local materials handling market, Moes said.

Southline president Bob McClell said customers would not see major changes resulting from the acquisition.

The acquisition is Equipment Depot's third major purchase since 2002. It previously bought Clarklift, of Forth Worth, Powr-Lift, of Dallas and Sherman, and three Mustang Equipment southern Texas branches.

Founded as Central Texas Clarklift in 1975, Equipment Depot is a dealer for Barrett, Caterpillar, Clark, Combi-Lift, Daewoo, Drexel, Linde, Mitsubishi, Nissan and Princeton forklifts. It also sells and rents aerial lifts by SkyTrak, Genie, Terex and JLG and light construction equipment by New Holland and Thomas.