09.01.2011

Tadano and Link-Belt end agreement

Tadano and Link-Belt have issued a joint statement ending their supply agreement for All Terrain cranes.

The agreement provided Link-Belt with Tadano Faun manufactured All Terrain cranes to sell under the Link-Belt brand on a non-exclusive basis in the North American, Central American and Caribbean markets.
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The Link Belt ATC-3200 - built by Tadano

The termination agreement has been drawn up to provide an orderly conclusion to the supply arrangement and places a high priority on the interests of customers that have purchased the Link-Belt branded cranes and includes long term commitments on the part of both Tadano Faun and Link-Belt in customer support areas such as parts supply and technical support.

The cranes, largely the 160 tonne ATC3200 and 220 tonne ATC3250, are basically the same models as those offered by Tadano America which will, of course continue to supply the cranes under its own brand throughout the Americas.

Vertikal Comment

This was hardly a match made in heaven from the start. It did provide Link-Belt with a relatively full line of excellent All Terrain cranes, however it is always hard for a manufacturer to do a god job for another manufacturer.
A manufacturer' priority will always be its own products, where employee jobs and facilities are at stake, usually coupled with better margins.

In this case the two companies, which are both ultimately Japanese owned, compete head to head in the truck mounted and Rough Terrain crane markets, and more recently in the telescopic crawler crane sector. Link Belt has also been working to increase its own All Terrain range.

The timing might be interesting and is clearly aimed to be well before Conexpo at the end of March. Perhaps we will see some new Link Belt All Terrain cranes on the stand?