10.02.2016

Dingli takes stake in Magni

Chinese aerial lift manufacturer Dingli has agreed the purchase of a 20 percent stake in Italian telehandler manufacturer Magni for €14.4 million. It has also been appointed as exclusive Magni importer and distributor for China.

Dingli - or Zhejiang Dingli Machinery Co to give it its official corporate title - also plans to invest with Magni in a new jointly held Research & Development centre in Europe, its initial project will be to design a new range of western orientated boom lifts.

Dingli has also advised shareholders that it expects earnings for 2015 will be in the region of 28 to 35 percent above that achieved in 2014.
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Riccardo Magni (L) and Xu Sughen of Dingli

Dingli is now a publicly quoted company on the Shanghai Main Board, while Magni was established just three years ago - at the end of 2012 - when the Magni family, headed by ex-Manitou Italia shareholder and chief executive Riccardo Magni, set up a brand-new business to design and build 360 degree telehandlers at a greenfield plant in Castelfranco Emilia.

The company tested its new plant and systems with a custom built aerial lift in 2012 and then at Bauma 2013, launched the all-new range of Magni 360 degree telehandlers, followed a year or so later with heavy duty fixed frame telehandlers. It has continued to extend the range of high quality innovative machines at the same time as building a solid distribution network.

Riccardo Magni said: “Dingli’s strength in the aerial lift sector is renowned around the world and my 30 years experience in the design and production of innovative telescopic machines will mean Dingli’s AWP range will be an even greater force to be reckoned with.”

Dingli president Xu Sughen added: “As family company, Magni shares the same core values as Dingli, it is driven by innovation and has a world-beating product range. Dingli is already the largest manufacturer of aerial work platforms in China. This agreement will strengthen our position in the the sector.”

Vertikal Comment

This is a very interesting move on the part of both companies. It potentially gives Dingli a state of the art base of operations in Europe from which to support its current initiatives to build a distribution network, while gaining some exceptional input from a talented engineer and manufacturer in the form of Riccardo Magni.

The news that the new R&D centre will kick off with a new range of boom lifts is very interesting, in that it will being the inspiration of a talented telehandler designer into this area. This does not of course mean that the results will be as exciting as the prospect of what they might do, but it will certainly be interesting.

Magni gains a base and insight into the potentially massive Chinese market for its products which has yet to develop and even emerge. Dingli stands out among the Chinese aerial lift manufacturers in terms of engineering, manufacturer and commercial acumen and it should have no problem at all working with the Magni family, which gets an early pay day for the bold investment it made in 2012 to establish a new telehandler manufacturer.

Looks like a win win deal which could go far