Konecranes has in June 2007 signed an agreement to acquire 19% of the share capital in the crane manufacturing company Dynamic Crane Systems Ltd (DCS) in South Africa. DCS has annual net sales of approximately EUR 4 million and 60 employees. The agreement includes an option to acquire the remaining shares in the company at a later stage.

DCS is a leading crane manufacturing company in South Africa, specializing in the manufacture, servicing and assembly of industrial and process cranes. DCS and Konecranes have worked together since the early 1990s, as DCS has been a licensee of Konecranes products for the South African market.

"Business is growing strongly in South Africa and this strategic acquisition will enable Konecranes to deepen its cooperation with existing customers and continue to expand the customer base in southern Africa," says Kari Utriainen, Director, Konecranes Standard Lifting. "The sub-Saharan market has been untapped by Konecranes and this acquisition will also support our expansion efforts in this vast region."

DCS headquarters are in Johannesburg and it has a sales and service office in Natal. The main industrial customer segments for DCS are automotive, petrochemical, power, steel, paper and ports. ?An interesting and important growth area for us is the mining industry, and DCS gives us an entry into that market,? Utriainen continues.

"Closer cooperation with Konecranes gives us more leverage within the industry and supports our aim of becoming the largest crane company in South Africa in the coming years," says Trevor Atkinson, co-founder of DCS. "The overall market is expected to grow and infrastructure will improve during the next three years because of the FIFA Football World Cup that will be held in the country in 2010."