Konecranes and Hewlett Packard (HP) have signed a five-year agreement for IT infrastructure services. Under this agreement HP will operate the helpdesk and provide on-site support, and will harmonize the desktop computer environment within the whole Konecranes Group. According to the agreement, 16 global information services employees, including 7 in Finland, will transfer from the Konecranes to the HP organization during autumn 2008. 

“By standardizing our IT infrastructure and outsourcing the support function, we will be better equipped to face changing business challenges and to adjust the focus for IT from support and maintenance to development and innovations,” says Kari Suominen, CIO, Konecranes. “HP is able to deliver technologies suited to end user needs and the relevant support services all over the world, quickly and flexibly."

The transition work will start in the beginning of April 2008 and will be finalized by May 1, 2009.

Konecranes is a world-leading group of Lifting Businesses™, serving a broad range of customers, including manufacturing and process industries, shipyards, ports and terminals. Konecranes provides productivity-enhancing lifting solutions as well as services for lifting equipment and machine tools of all makes. In 2007, Group sales totaled EUR 1,750 million. The Group has 8,400 employees, at more than 470 locations in 43 countries. Konecranes is listed on the OMX Helsinki Stock Exchange (symbol: KCR1V).