18.06.2003

UK deal for Arcomet self-erectors

Belgium-based tower crane manufacturer Arcomet has launched into a joint venture with long-standing partner Airtek Safety to form Airtek Cranes in the UK. The fifty-fifty joint venture will create the sole distributorship for the UK market for Arcomet self-erecting cranes. The new company already has a total of 40 self-erecting cranes leased to various builders in the UK, mainly in the house building sector, and expects this number to rise to 53 cranes in the very near future.

Airtek Cranes said that it also expects to have at least 80 self-erecting cranes leased to builders throughout the UK by the end of the year, and as many as 200 units operating on the UK’s sites over the next five years.

“The UK market has been a major priority for us for some time,” said Leo and Dirk Theyskens, joint managing directors of Arcomet. “Through our joint venture with Airtek, we now have the infrastructure to seriously develop the market for our self-erecting cranes in the UK by delivering the same technical service support that has enabled us to become the world’s leading crane rental company. We have the best equipment in Europe and service support for the self-erecting crane rental market of any one in Europe. We also have a large stock and spares that can be delivered to a site anywhere in the UK within 24 hours.

"We will be basing three fulltime technical support engineers permanently in the UK who will help train and educate UK building site staff to operate the cranes as well as provide emergency problem solving services to customers, old and new.”

Arcomet also operates a fleet of 34 tower cranes in the UK through its already established joint-venture with the Kier Group.