Finnish crane giant KCI Konecranes has sold its Urjala, Finland-based end truck factory to the factory’s managers.
But it will continue to use the new company, Urjala Works, to source between 70% and 80% of its end trucks, according to hoist manufacturing managing director Ari Kiviniitty. He declined to give exact numbers.
“We are growing pretty fast now. The additional volume we will get from elsewhere,” he said.
He said that the company decided to sell off the business, which employs about 70 people, so it can purchase end trucks in regions that are closer to hoist demand. He said that Konecranes wants to be able to source end trucks in Asia, the USA and Europe.
At the moment the company buys from a supplier in Asia and from Estonia-based Konesco, of which Konecranes is a minority shareholder.
Konecranes will also buy trolley load beams from Urjala Works. It also buys load beams from Konesko and other suppliers in Asia and the USA.
“While we can have a good relationship with them we can still also look for possibilities elsewhere and balance then the geographical coverage and also the cost,” Kiviniitty said.
An Urjala Works spokesperson said that it was too early to say if there would be any redundancies in the factory. He said that it would not be in the best interests of the company to look for new business among other crane and hoist manufacturers.
Camron Ghanemi, marketing manager of Ace World Companies, which makes hoists and end trucks in the USA, said that end trucks are much simpler to make than hoists, and so it makes sense to separate the two. “You can streamline on manufacturing,”he said.
