01.10.2024

New MD for Riwal

Pedro Torres - the chief executive of Dutch international rental group Riwal - is leaving the company in the new year.

He will step down from his current role at year end and remain with the company for a three month transition period. The move follows the March acquisition of Riwal by Boels Rental. Boels has appointed Lars Reehorst to succeed him as managing director of Riwal and Manlift - its operation in the Middle East.
Torres has been with the company for almost 12 years and took over as chief executive in 2019 following the departure of Norty Turner, having been chief operating officer for four years.
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Pedro Torres

He joined Riwal in 2012 as director of its northern region, covering the Netherlands, UK, Germany, Poland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, having previously been head of the aerial lift division of Spanish crane and access rental company Hune.

Before that, he was chief executive and shareholder at Nacanco - the access division of Ibercarretillas - which he took from being a €4 million, one outlet local business to a €22 million national player with 22 outlets. The business was acquired by Spanish consolidator PE Advent International and merged with Hune.
He began his equipment career in 1995 with Linde, the German forklift manufacturer, where he was international controller for three years, leaving for Nacanco in 1998.

Boels chief executive, Pierre Boels, said: “Pedro is an outstanding leader, serving the company with remarkable commitment and unwavering passion. His departure marks the end of a significant chapter in the history of Riwal. I am deeply appreciative of his contributions and wish him every success in his future endeavours.”

Torres added: “Leading Riwal has been both a privilege and an honour. I am confident that the company is in good hands now. We find ourselves in a transition period, where I’m using my expertise and leadership to stimulate the joining of forces between Boels and Riwal. After that, I will continue my professional journey elsewhere. It is with pride that I look back upon our joint achievements and my time at Riwal.”

Lars Reehorst is currently managing director of Boels Special Rental Business Units, which he has managed for the past three years, having joined the company in 2021 from Trackunit, where he was a regional manager.
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Lars Reehorst

Prior to that, he worked with the Riwal group, having started out as a business analyst in 2011, in 2016 he transferred to the Manlift operation in Qatar, initially as commercial manager, and then country manager, leaving for Trackunit in mid-2020.

Vertikal Comment

The departure of Pedro Torres from Riwal is a sad loss to the company. Whether you like him or not, he is a class act - a gentleman that brings intelligence and intellect to the access rental market. Running Riwal under Doran Livnat’s ownership would have been a totally different experience from doing so as part of the Boels group. Both owners would have had more than their fair share of challenges, but they are quite different owners. Torres will be 57 next month and does not seem the type to seriously consider early retirement.

It will therefore be interesting to see what he does next. Hopefully, he will remain in the wider industry - if not, it will lose a good man.

UPDATE April 2025
Pedro Torres has joined the Iberian operation of newly formed international company Alayan Rentals, which brings together the companies within the Rental Service Division of Italy's Tesya, including CGTE, the Cat Rental store in Italy, Finanzauto, the Cat Rental Store in Spain and the Spanish company Emerent, which has also opened a couple of branches in Portugal where it trades as Alayan Emerent Máquinas e Equipamentos.