Austrian crane, access and heavy lift group Felbermayr has acquired Bulgarian crane rental company Maritza.
The deal, which was finalised at the end of May, is intended to strengthen Felbermayr’s coverage in south eastern Europe, while also adding aerial work platform rental to its existing activities in Bulgaria which date back to 2007. The following year it established a permanent company in Haskovo - south east of Plovdiv, appointing Valentin Radev as branch manager. He now runs the Bulgarian business with 18 employees but plans to retire this year.
The deal is done
Radev’s duties will be taken over by Maritza’s managing directors Yordan Georgiev and Angel Yankov, while the operation in Haskovo will move to Maritza’s base in Plovdiv, roughly 160km away. Maritza also operates a branch in Varna, on the Black Sea coast north of Burgas and in total employs 21. Its fleet includes six cranes with capacities from 40 to 160 tonnes and a few telehandlers, which will continue to operate under the Maritza name. The combined operation will start off with around a dozen cranes permanently based in the country, with 41 employees.
(L-R) Yordan Georgiev, Horst Felbermayr, Angel Yankov and Peter Stöttinger
Felbermayr managing director Peter Stöttinger said: “The acquisition of Maritza now gives us the opportunity to further strengthen our market position in Bulgaria, with another goal being to establish our platform rental business in Bulgaria as part of the expansion. With the retirement of our long standing division manager Valentin Radev, we will relocate the existing branch to the Maritza location in Plovdiv,"
Established in 1942, Felbermayr employs 2,700 across 68 sites in 18 European countries, with around 600 mobile cranes and 4,000 aerial work platforms plus telehandlers. This is its second acquisition by the group this quarter, having taken over Dorn lift in April, while last year it acquired Germany’s SGL.
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