D.A. Davidson Serves as Exclusive Financial Advisor to Douglas Dynamics in the Acquisition of Venco Venturo Industries
D.A. Davidson, a leading middle-market investment banking firm, announced that it acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Douglas Dynamics, Inc. on its acquisition of Venco Venturo Industries LLC, a recognized manufacturer of truck-mounted cranes and dump hoists. The transaction underscores Douglas Dynamics’ ongoing strategy to expand and diversify its portfolio of premium work truck attachments and equipment, while also highlighting D.A. Davidson’s continued leadership in advising clients within the industrial manufacturing sector.
A Strategic Partnership to Strengthen Market Leadership
Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Douglas Dynamics is North America’s premier manufacturer and upfitter of work truck attachments and equipment. The company is well known for its snow and ice control equipment under brands such as Fisher, Western, and SnowEx, as well as its work truck solutions that serve a broad range of industries. With the addition of Venco Venturo, Douglas Dynamics further enhances its product capabilities in the work truck segment, positioning itself for continued growth across commercial and municipal markets.
Venco Venturo Industries, founded more than 70 years ago, has built a strong reputation as a trusted name in truck-mounted cranes and hoists. The company’s product portfolio includes electric light-duty cranes, electric-hydraulic cranes, hydraulic cranes, and conversion/dump hoists, all designed for superior durability and performance. Serving customers across the United States, Venco Venturo is recognized for engineering reliability and providing equipment that meets the highest standards of quality and safety.
A Milestone Deal Guided by D.A. Davidson
The acquisition represents a significant step in Douglas Dynamics’ long-term growth strategy. Acting as financial advisor, D.A. Davidson worked closely with Douglas Dynamics’ executive leadership throughout the transaction, providing strategic guidance and financial insights that helped shape the successful outcome.
“Venco is a great business,” said Eric Stetler, Managing Director and Head of Diversified Industrials and M&A at D.A. Davidson. “We appreciated the opportunity to work with Douglas throughout the process and share our industry insights as they evaluated this opportunity. We are excited to see how Venco will further supplement Douglas’s market-leading Work Truck Attachments segment.”
This collaboration underscores D.A. Davidson’s commitment to providing tailored advisory services for complex industrial transactions, particularly within the machinery and equipment sectors.
Supporting Douglas Dynamics’ Strategic Growth
The acquisition of Venco Venturo aligns directly with Douglas Dynamics’ strategic growth framework, particularly its “Activate” pillar, which focuses on acquiring complex attachment products to both expand and balance the company’s overall portfolio. This strategy aims to strengthen Douglas Dynamics’ leadership in key markets while diversifying its offerings to reduce seasonality and cyclicality—an important step given the company’s strong footprint in the snow and ice equipment business.
Mark Van Genderen, President and CEO of Douglas Dynamics, emphasized the importance of this acquisition in achieving the company’s broader strategic goals.
“This acquisition represents a meaningful first step in the execution of our Activate strategic pillar, which is focused on acquiring complex attachments to grow and balance our portfolio,” said Van Genderen. “The Davidson team helped us analyze this opportunity, leveraging their strong sector expertise in work trucks and attachments.”
By adding Venco Venturo’s crane and hoist products, Douglas Dynamics can now offer an even broader range of solutions to its customer base—ranging from municipal fleet operators to commercial contractors and utilities. The integration of Venco Venturo’s product line will allow Douglas Dynamics to capture new market segments, enhance customer value, and leverage cross-selling opportunities within its existing distribution network.
Venco Venturo: A Legacy of Engineering Excellence
Founded more than seven decades ago, Venco Venturo Industries has played a key role in shaping the truck-mounted equipment landscape in North America. Its cranes and hoists are widely used across industries such as construction, energy, telecommunications, and public works. The company’s consistent focus on innovation, reliability, and safety has earned it a loyal customer base and a strong reputation for technical excellence.
With its manufacturing expertise and established distribution network, Venco Venturo complements Douglas Dynamics’ mission to deliver the highest quality work truck attachments and equipment available in the market. The combination of Douglas Dynamics’ scale and operational experience with Venco Venturo’s niche engineering strength creates a powerful platform for continued growth.
D.A. Davidson’s Role and Broader Industry Expertise
The successful completion of this transaction highlights D.A. Davidson’s Machinery & Equipment practice, which has continued to deliver strong results across a wide range of industrial subsectors. The firm’s Diversified Industrials Investment Banking Group is recognized for its deep industry expertise, long-standing relationships, and ability to execute complex transactions for middle-market clients.
D.A. Davidson’s Investment Banking Division is a full-service platform that provides comprehensive financial advisory and capital markets expertise, including mergers and acquisitions (M&A), debt and equity financing, and strategic advisory services. The firm has extensive transaction experience across four key industry verticals: consumer, diversified industrials, financial institutions, and technology.
With a strong track record of advising both private and public companies, D.A. Davidson continues to play a leading role in facilitating growth and transformation across the North American industrial landscape. The firm’s advisory approach emphasizes collaboration, deep sector understanding, and customized strategies designed to achieve long-term client success.
Broader Implications for the Work Truck Industry
Douglas Dynamics’ acquisition of Venco Venturo comes at a time when the work truck and equipment industry is undergoing steady transformation, driven by factors such as technological advancement, electrification, and increasing demand for productivity-enhancing solutions.
By bringing Venco Venturo into its family of brands, Douglas Dynamics positions itself to respond to the evolving needs of fleet operators and equipment upfitters seeking high-quality, integrated solutions. The acquisition also supports the company’s ambition to reduce exposure to weather-dependent segments and build year-round revenue streams—an increasingly important strategic priority in the equipment manufacturing space.
Moreover, the deal reflects growing consolidation trends in the industrial and commercial vehicle equipment sectors, where manufacturers are pursuing acquisitions to achieve economies of scale, expand capabilities, and meet rising customer expectations for versatile, value-added products.
Continuing Momentum for D.A. Davidson
This transaction adds to a growing list of successful advisory mandates for D.A. Davidson’s Diversified Industrials team, further establishing the firm’s reputation as a trusted partner for mid-market manufacturers and equipment suppliers. The firm’s ability to combine strategic insight with transaction execution has made it a go-to advisor for companies navigating growth, diversification, or ownership transitions.
By helping Douglas Dynamics execute this acquisition, D.A. Davidson once again demonstrated its expertise in structuring and negotiating transactions that align with long-term strategic goals, while ensuring that clients receive maximum value and strategic benefit.
The acquisition of Venco Venturo Industries by Douglas Dynamics, with D.A. Davidson serving as exclusive financial advisor, marks a significant step in the evolution of the work truck equipment market. The combination of Douglas Dynamics’ market leadership and Venco Venturo’s product innovation creates new opportunities for expansion and technological advancement across multiple industries.
For D.A. Davidson, the deal represents another milestone achievement in its mission to deliver exceptional investment banking services to clients in the industrial sector. As Douglas Dynamics integrates Venco Venturo’s operations and product lines, the partnership is expected to drive long-term growth, strengthen competitive positioning, and further reinforce the company’s standing as a leader in the work truck equipment industry.
