Konecranes acquires two machine tool service companies in Scandinavia

Konecranes is strengthening its position in the machine tool service (MTS) business by acquiring two MTS companies in Scandinavia, one in Norway and one in Sweden. The agreements were signed in July 2007.

One of the acquired companies is Kongsberg Automation AS, a Norwegian machine tool maintenance and modernization company headquartered in Kongsberg, southwest of Oslo. Kongsberg Automation employs 32 persons and has net sales of approximately EUR 5 million. The company is specialized in preventive maintenance and modernization of computerized numerical control (CNC) machine tools, with special competence in control systems.

The acquired company will form the first Konecranes MTS unit in Norway and will work closely with Konecranes' crane service units in the country. Synergies in administration, branch structure and product offerings will be utilized.

The second company is the Swedish machine tool maintenance and modernization company Reftele Maskinservice AB, headquartered in Reftele in southern Sweden. A major part of Reftele Maskinservice's business is field service - they specialize in serving eccentric presses - and the rest is modernization and spare parts manufacturing. Reftele Maskinservice has 10 employees and net sales of EUR approximately 1.2 million.

The acquisition of Reftele Maskinservice will enable Konecranes to strengthen and widen its service offerings and competence for press machines in Sweden. Konecranes will form a new MTS unit in Sweden consisting of Reftele Maskinservice and Sajo Service AB, which was acquired by Konecranes in 2005.

"We are very pleased to add Kongsberg Automation and Reftele Maskinservice to the Konecranes organization," says Pekka Kujala, Director, Konecranes Service, MTS. "The knowledge and experience in machine tool maintenance that the companies bring to Konecranes, further broadens our comprehensive machine tool service offering and expertise."