Kohler takeover

[sbrumby]

I am not sure when it hapened but it seems lombardini & ruggerini are no more. But the ones that are still being made are rebadged kohler. So fro what I can see the 850 MD engine is now KD 425-2 and the 950 RD engine is now the KD 477-2.
Anybody know anything else?

[Sphere]

Kohler acquired Lombardini in 2007, I guess it comes naturally that they would give up all the excess brands and unify them.

[Stuart]

This kind or re-badging makes it even harder to keep track of what's what doesn't it Just hope they correctly sort the 'wheat from the chaff' as it were and keep the better engines in production.

[sbrumby]

I think the two engines I mentioned were originaly Ruggerini. I think Ruggerini & Lombardini joined together some time ago and they made the same engines but with a different badge and colour. I have asked this question before but have never had an answer. Why do they make the RD engine and the MD engine? they are different in that the RD has rear starter ,MD has front, RD has twin injector pump at front, MD has two injector pumps at rear. But as far as I know they both have 180deg cranks, so I am not sure what you meant Stu in an earlier post about which engines give the most vibration?

[Sphere]

Well, Lombardini have been in existence since 1922 and have bought their competitors one by one (wikipedia) including Slanzi, Cotiemme, Acme, and Ruggerini. Apparently Lombardini themselves have been bought by Mark IV Inc.

More about this here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lombardini_S.r.l.