Palmer Johnson Purchases Hamilton Engine Sales

Palmer Johnson Enterprises, the owner of Palmer Johnson Power Systems, a national service provider and parts distributor for off-highway equipment, has made its first move into the engine business with the acquisition of Hamilton Engine Sales, a distributor of Deutz and Isuzu off-highway diesel engines.

“Hamilton Engine brings an excellent reputation, great people, 60 years of expertise, and strong vendor partnerships to the Palmer Johnson family of companies,” said Craig Parsons, president of Palmer Johnson Power Systems. “Both companies are expanding service capacity throughout the Pacific Northwest; a co-location of operations and warehousing in Seattle will have a direct and immediate impact on both companies’ growth strategies.”

The acquisition is expected to strengthen Palmer Johnson’s national growth and diversification strategy in the off-highway equipment industry. Hamilton Engine Sales represents Isuzu in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Alaska and Hawaii and it represents Deutz in Oregon as well as a recently signed a distribution agreement that adds western Washington and Alaska.

As part of the acquisition, Brad Lyons, vice president of Sales and Service for Palmer Johnson Power Systems will lead Hamilton Engine as president, with Andy Telford continuing as general manager. In addition, Craig Parsons will become the CEO of Palmer Johnson Enterprises and Craig Swenson will be promoted to president of Palmer Johnson Power Systems.

“I look forward to leading the experienced Hamilton Engine Sales team,” said Lyons. “Together, we can leverage both companies’ expertise to meet our growth goals in 2020. We see a bright future for growth of value-added products behind Deutz and Isuzu diesel engines and are excited to be partnered with vendors that are leading in innovation.

“The industry is changing rapidly with alternative energy sources and we believe having partners that are leading this change will help ensure our distribution and service business remains strong. This acquisition puts us in a position to support many aspects of the off-highway industry well into the future with product, service and engineering.”

Based in Sun Prairie, Wis., Palmer Johnson Power Systems owns and operates 10 full-service locations across North America including two locations in Canada. The company has grown substantially in the last five years, both organically and through a series of acquisitions. Most recently, Palmer Johnson acquired Mill Log Equipment Co. in Oregon in February 2019.