Grove River machinery, located in Richmond Hill, Georgia, just outside of Savannah, is now a National Equipment Dealers, LLC [NED] company. On October 21st, 2021, NED, LLC finalized the acquisition of Grove River Machinery which will expand the NED organization into the State of Georgia, where the company hopes to grow more in the future.
“With this merger, Grove River Machinery is turning a new, exciting chapter in our 20-year history. Our merger with NED will provide us the means to grow our Hyundai market share way beyond our past capabilities,” said Dale Richbourg, former sales manager at Grove River Machinery.
GROVE RIVER LEGACY
Grove River was established by Ken Richbourg, twenty years ago, primarily as a heavy equipment leasing and financing company, originally known as Grove River Leasing. Over the years the company changed its name to Grove River Machinery as it transitioned from an equipment financing business to a more traditional heavy equipment dealership.
“Building strong relationships and investing in our customers has always been our key to success over the years. Our founder, Ken Richbourg always believed in partnering with our customers and helping them grow,” Richbourg explained.
Grove River Machinery successfully represented the Hyundai product line in the greater Savannah, Georgia area for the last 14 years. Ken Richbourg, the founder, passed away at the end of 2019, but his legacy has lived on through the efforts of his wife Jenette and nephew Dale Richbourg. Together they continued to grow the company and support their loyal Hyundai customer base with innovative products and reliable product support.
MERGER & NAME CHANGE
Will Blackerby, vice president of fleet for NED, LLC assisted with the recent Grove River Machinery acquisition over the last few months.
“Dale Richbourg is a proven industry sales professional, who understands that this is a relationship business. Getting to know Dale during this merger only increased the value of this deal, and I couldn’t be happier to have Dale on the NED team,” said Blackerby.
Grove River Machinery will become NED’s fourteenth location, and the first branch located in the state of Georgia. The growth plan for the NED Savannah Branch will include a broader product offering. The branch will continue to represent Hyundai Construction Equipment but will expand its offering to include Bell articulated dump trucks, along with other products, which will be added in the future.
“The Grove River acquisition continues NED’s track record of successfully building scale, filling in geographic gaps, and expanding reach through attractively valued and financed M&A,” Blackerby added.
The new location in Savannah will be renamed NED, LLC, in accordance with NED’s current company-wide re-branding strategy.
“As fellow Hyundai dealers, we have known the Richbourg family and Grove River Machinery for many years. The timing is right, and we are excited to bring them into the NED family. We look forward to investing time and resources in Georgia to expand our customer base with Hyundai, Bell Trucks, and other products,” said Mitch Nevins, CEO, National Equipment Dealers, LLC.
