23.12.2024

Kiloutou acquires Liftisa and Gloobal

French international rental group Kiloutou has acquired Spanish rental companies Liftisa and Gloobal Movingrent, both of which are majority owned and managed by access industry veteran Ivan Papell.

The move beefs up Kiloutou's depot network in Spain adding six additional branches in Catalonia, Madrid and the Valencia, while expanding, and more importantly broadening, its access rental fleet, particularly in the low level platform and vehicle mounted lift market sectors.

Liftisa runs a 2,000 unit fleet from three locations in Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia with around 80 employees. Gloobal also operates from three locations with a fleet of around 550 truck, van and pick up mounted platforms as well as a few trucks equipped with loader cranes, for both short and long term rental, with around 30 employees.

The acquisitions take Kiloutou’s branch network in Spain to 62 locations with more than 600 employees.

Kiloutou Spain’s managing director Cyril Brillouet said: “We are looking forward to the benefits that these two businesses will bring in terms of experience and leadership in the aerial work platform rental market. I am delighted to welcome the 110 members of the Liftisa and Gloobal teams to Kiloutou Spain.”

Ivan Papell of Liftisa/Gloobal added: “I am very pleased and proud to announce the acquisition of our two companies by Kiloutou. The two operations are very solid, ambitious and are well placed in the market. This new step will allow our team members to continue their strong growth while benefiting from the services and resources of the Kiloutou group, which will help them expand in the rest of Spain.”

Liftisa can trace its roots back to 1989 when it began as a forklift distributor. In 1998 it was acquired by Belgian access rental specialist DK rental, with Ivan Papell becoming managing director of DK Spain.

In 2007 DK Rental and its subsidiaries were acquired by Lavendon - now part of France’s Loxam - with Papell staying with the business. Papell left Lavendon in 2009, restarting an independent Liftisa two years later. In 2015 he set up Gloobal as a truck mounted lift specialist, acquiring Tarragona based van mounted rental company Alve in 2019, which made it a leading player in the Spanish vehicle mounted lift rental market.