Oisin Capital, the Jersey (UK) based investment office of the O'Rourke family, owners of Contractor Laing O'Rourke, has made an investment in Italian tower crane manufacturer Moritsch Cranes, the business owned by the Moritsch family, the founders of Gru Comedil in 1962, and Recom Cranes in 2004.
Comedil was acquired by Terex in 1999, and with Recom selling its luffing jib tower cranes through Terex Comedil, which at the time was managed by Martina Moritsch. The Recom business was fully acquired by Terex in 2012 See: Terex takes 100% of Recom.
The investment in Moritsch Cranes is aimed, say the two companies, at supporting a joint research and development programme to expand Moritsch’s tower crane range into larger models. The companies have not disclosed the size of the investment.
Moritsch Cranes, was established in 2015 by Mariano Moritsch, the son of the late Ferruccio Moritsch, the founder of Comedil and Recom. The relationship between the Moritsch and O'Rourke families dates back to 1993, when Ray O’Rourke met Ferruccio Moritsch when his equipment rental business, Select Plant, was moving into crane rental. The relationship continued following Terex’s acquisition of Comedil, with Select Plant taking on the Terex Comedil/ Terex cranes distribution for the UK.
Ray O’Rourke
Oisin stated that its investment aligns with its wider investment activity in construction-related sectors linked to its work in the UK and Australia through the Laing O’Rourke group, which includes the Terex Cranes tower crane distributor Select Plant Hire.
Ray O’Rourke added: “It is great to be working with Mariano again on this very critical aspect of construction delivery”.
Mariano Moritsch said: “I am honoured, after almost 35 years of experience in the tower crane market, to be part of such an intriguing challenge with the O’Rourke family, to develop a new paradigm in the lifting industry, and to guarantee a bright future for Moritsch cranes."
Mariano Moritsch
The official statement from Moritisch Cranes said: “We are proud and happy to announce Oisin capital of the O’Rourke family joining Moritsch cranes and sharing a new paradigm in the lifting industry. Moritsch and Oisin will keep on investing in research and development to enlarge the range of tower cranes towards bigger and bigger units"
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