28.03.2013

France Elévateur acquires CTE France

France Elévateur has acquired a controlling interest in CTE France, the CTE, Paus and Unic crane distributor.

The move follows a period in which CTE France was operated under the protection of French insolvency rules from 2009 until successfully exiting the process. The company was previously owned by German material lift and trailer crane producer Paus, CTE Italy (which had a 40 percent holding) and CTE France’s president Christian Cazabat.

Earlier this year the owners agreed to sell a controlling interest in the business to France Elevateur which has distributed the CTE B-series telescopic boom truck mounted lifts for many years through its AB Service subsidiary, dating back to when the products were Bizzocchi.
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CTE France is now part of the France Elévateur group

France Elévateur now owns an 80 percent stake in CTE France - which becomes part of the France Elévateur group - along with AB Service, 4’Axe, iN2E and LC Lev. CTE Italy and Paus each retain a 10 percent holding in the business, while Cazabat has sold all of his shares, and is now marketing manager for France Elévateur.

All employees have been retained and the group is pooling its resources in the areas of sales and product support in order to offer a more comprehensive coverage for all of the products it represents.

Vertikal Comment

This is essentially a positive news story, however rumours had started to circulate regarding the administration and acquisition becoming completely distorted and negative. In one version we were told, CTE itself had gone into administration and been saved by France Elévateur!

CTE was only ever a minority shareholder in CTE France and quite honestly this latest move is a good one for the Italian manufacturer, the CTE France staff and the customers. It’s all about communication though in this internet age word of mouth still distorts – but it does so on a much wider scale and far quicker than it used to.