Kobelt has acquired Accu-Steer Inc., a U.S.-based manufacturer of hydraulic steering actuators.
Founded by Bill Pulse and Paul Barber in 1993, Accu-Steer designs and builds a range of hydraulic power steering units for guiding and controlling motion on commercial vessels and pleasure craft.
“The synergies between the Kobelt and Accu-Steer product lines make these two companies such a natural fit,” said Bill Pulse, Accu-Steer president. “Kobelt’s goal is to provide comprehensive systems to their customers and the Accu-Steer product line enables them to achieve this goal and better service the customer. We are very excited about the future for these combined product lines.”
Kobelt will retain the Accu-Steer brand; a well-known, trusted and respected name in the marine industry. Accu-Steer branded products will be distributed and serviced through Kobelt’s global partner network operating in 60 countries worldwide.
Accu-Steer will be physically relocated into the current Kobelt manufacturing facility in Surrey, British Columbia. The Accu-Steer dealer network will remain intact but, henceforth, direct factory support will be provided from the Kobelt facility in Surrey.
“We continue on our mission to design and manufacture systems that provide our customers with the safest, most trusted solutions to guiding and controlling movement,” said David Bockhold, CEO of Kobelt. “In our effort to provide complete steering packages to a broad range of the marine market, the Accu-Steer product line effectively fills some gaps in our current Kobelt product line. By packaging the hydraulic power steering unit into a complete steering package, we improve our ability to provide quality, cost effective, and complete steering solutions for both the commercial and pleasure markets.
"In addition to steering packages, we can also integrate our propulsion controls and our Keypower thrusters and stabilization systems to deliver solutions for all aspects of vessel motion control. With both Accu-Steer as well as our recent acquisition of Keypower, we are responding to customer demand for one company to take responsibility for the integration of multiple systems.”
