22.03.2013

Menno Koel leaves Holland Lift as ProDelta takes over

ProDelta Investments, the company that owns Riwal and Hovago has acquired the entire share capital of Holland Lift.

Menno Koel, former director and majority shareholder has left the company and handed over his general manager's role to Thom Sijs.

The company says that it agreed the full takeover in January of this year and that Koel is stepping down in order to give the new owner a free reign to take the company into a new growth phase. It added that the change will have no impact on how the organisation is run.
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Menno Koel

The statement from says: “ProDelta Investments sees a strong potential for growth in the organisation thanks to increasing international demand for Holland Lift’s high quality products across a large number of countries.”

Holland lift was founded at the end of 1983 by consulting engineer Martin Haak and began production in 1984, after some financial difficulties in 1993 it was acquired by German based MBB, and then by Terex in 1998. Koel joined the business just before the Terex takeover.

Terex almost sold the business to Haulotte in 2001, but Roger Tracey of Stoneham Equipment stepped in an acquired the business from Terex in 2002 with the two directors, Menno Koel and Pieter Boogert taking up part of the equity. The two managers assisted by private equity funding purchased the company from Tracey in 2007. Boogert sold his share in the business in late 2010 following a bout of bad health, Koel acquired his holding, becoming the controlling shareholder.

Vertikal Comment

Holland Lift has struggled a little in the past year or so, as it faced the challenges of stepping up production and reducing its substantial backlog, the loss of its finance director as well as losses it incurred with Russon Access in the UK.

Menno Koel would have found it difficult to have handed over control of the business to a third party and carried on in his main role as commercial director. He and Boogert have run the company together for more than 10 years and came through the recent recession in good shape, at least in terms of sales and shipments.

Loosing Boogert – his fellow shareholder and finance director - would have been a challenge, added to which dealing with shareholders, and finance companies are not Koel’s most favourite pastime. He is more a product and sales person, although clearly adept at running a business. At 40 he still has plenty of opportunity to get involved in a new venture or a new job. We also understand that he retains ownership of the business that held his shares - MJKB, which he could also trade with? Whatever he does he is likely to remain in the access industry, given half the chance.

Rumours regarding Riwal taking control of Holland Lift (its biggest single customer) have circulated from time to time over a number of years, so the acquisition by its parent company comes as no great surprise. It is though an interesting departure for Livnat and Pro-Delta which has been mainly involved in rental, distribution and trading so far, at least when it comes to the crane and access sector and not manufacturing.

Livnat though is above all else an investor, but prefers to put his money into companies that he likes, in sectors that he is familiar with, where he can have make a contribution over and above the normal financial and strategic.

Holland Lift makes an first class product and has a great deal of further growth potential, while many customers will regret the ending of its owner-managed period, they will also be pleased to see that it now has strong financial underpinning and that the owner has a ‘feel’ for the access industry.

ProDelta’s ownership of Riwal may cause one or two rental company buyers to take a negative position on this move, but the policies and strategies of the new owners, along with the products themselves, will have the final word.

Interesting times.