10.08.2009

Imer buys Iteco

Italian based aerial lift manufacturer Iteco has been acquired by the Imer Group - While we have not yet received a formal statement from either company, we can confirm that the long rumoured sale of Iteco has been completed and that Tuscany based Imer is the buyer.

The transaction is asset and trade based and includes the company's order book, production facilities, inventory, name, telephone numbers and goodwill but not the debtor book or liabilities.

Imer recently dipped its toe in the access waters with the launch of three new spider lift work platforms at Intermat along with its first telehandler.

Although its has not manufactured aerial lifts before - specialising instead on concrete equipment, including mixers, power floats, pumps and such along with a wide range of hoists - Its sales subsidiaries are already involved in the access market in some counties.

in the UK Imer Direct handles Maber hoists, while in Spain Imer Iberica is the UpRight distributor.

So far no one we spoke to has been informed of what changes, if any, are planned, although in an unrelated move Iteco has freed itself up in Germany, where Hubarbeitsbühnen Bielefeld, previously the authorised distributor, has been removed from Iteco’s distributor list.

Bielefeld says that it is still talking to Iteco and selling its machines on a freelance basis alongside those of Matilsa which it also represents.

Iteco, which largely builds self propelled scissor lifts has introduced a completely new range of products, over the past few years, with highly competitive features to go with its acknowledged quality levels, but sales volumes have not increased as the company might have expected.
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Iteco now produces both scissors and boom lifts

An attempt to introduce a larger boom range three years ago did not go well and the prototype, shown at Intermat 2006 has so far not resurfaced.

Vertikal Comment

With minimal information there is not much to add here, apart from to say that Iteco, while making a good quality product, has never managed to break away from being a specialist supplier. It has also been though more owners than possibly any other self-propelled lift company in the market.

While Imer is not an access company, it certainly has a very international outlook and competes well in some tough product areas. The key will be how it manages the Iteco business and to what extent it will integrate it with its other operations.

One thing is for certain, it makes sense for Imer to buy into the access business rather than attempt to enter the market from the ground level, as seemed to be the plan at Intermat.

More when we hear more.