Konecranes is expanding its machine tool service (MTS) activities and during the past four months has acquired three MTS companies in the UK. Lincoln-based K&B Europe Ltd, with its subsidiary K&B Machine Tool Services Ltd, in the East Midlands was acquired in July. Electron Service Ltd, with headquarters in Walsall in central England, was acquired at the end of October. The assets of Machine Tool Services (GB) Ltd in Lewes in southern England were acquired at the beginning of November. The acquired companies have combined net sales of approximately MEUR 3 and more than 20 employees. The prices of the acquisitions are not disclosed.

Until now Konecranes has only had machine tool service activities in Finland, Sweden and Norway, but it is now expanding these operations to the UK.

The acquired companies all specialize in maintenance services for machine tools in the engineering industry. Their competences cover mechanical and electrical maintenance and control systems. Sales are based on long-term customer relationships, with annual preventive maintenance tasks on customers' machine tools and on-call jobs. The three companies all have broad customer bases in the UK and in Ireland.

"Through the acquisitions Konecranes will be able to offer a wide range of machine tool maintenance solutions to customers in the engineering industry throughout the UK," says Pekka Kujala, Director, MTS. "The UK machine tool service market is one of the key markets in Europe. After our successful establishment in the Nordic market, this is a natural next step in also providing machine tool services locally for Konecranes customers outside the Nordic countries."

Konecranes machine tool services have a proven track-record in Finland and have expanded to Sweden and Norway during the last two years. The MTS market is estimated to be at least double the crane service market. Konecranes offers machine tool services together with normal crane services, and can thus offer larger maintenance solutions to its customers within General Manufacturing.

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 9,600 employees in more than 470 locations in 43 countries. Konecranes is listed on the OMX Nordic Exchange Helsinki (symbol: KCR1V).