The subject of this company profile is Bell Equipment Limited, the South African manufacturer of construction equipment that was formed in 1954 and which started to establish itself internationally in the late 1990s.

Bell is best known as a producer of articulated dump trucks (ADTs), and it reinforced its position in Europe in this segment with the establishment of an assembly facility in Germany in 2003. However, it also has a significant equipment distribution business in Southern Africa and owns direct sales operations in other strategically important territories.

This profile analyses the company’s activities with a particular focus on its European operations, with reference made to the parent company in South Africa. An important part of Bell’s emergence onto the world stage has been its relationship with John Deere. The US construction and agricultural equipment manufacturer first bought a strategic stake in the company in 1999. While that partnership is now beginning to unwind, it has had a significant influence on Bell’s development.