Activist hedge funder Mick McGuire has made a huge winning bet on Terex

• Mick McGuire of Marcato Capital took an interest in Terex a year ago and has been pushing it to streamline.
• Shares are up nearly 90 percent over the past year and jumped after his appearance at this year's Delivering Alpha conference.

Mick McGuire speaking at the 2017 Delivering Alpha conference in New York on Sept. 12, 2017.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

Mick McGuire looks at Terex and sees a diversified manufacturer with a lot of upside if it can just get leaner.

The activist head of Marcato Capital took an interest in the company a year ago and has been pushing it to streamline, focusing on strong segments and shaking loose some of the less-profitable ends. Over the past year or so, McGuire's firm has been working with Terex CEO John Garrison Jr. to make that happen.

"What we saw were certain businesses that made good money and good returns on their assets, and certain businesses that did not," McGuire said on the sidelines of 2017's Delivering Alpha conference in an exclusive CNBC PRO interview.

"If the CEO was open to considering a fresh look at maybe exiting the businesses that were not performing well and focusing on the businesses that were, there was some opportunity to generate a lot of earnings," he added.

The strategy seems to be working: Terex shares have soared 89 percent through Sept. 26 and rose more than 9 percent in the two weeks after the conference.

Click here for the full CNBC PRO report and the interview video.