21.03.2010

Skako lift, a new name in access

Worldlift Industries has transformed itself over the past six months and is set to introduce a number of class leading new products, including the world’s largest spider lift – the 52 metre FS530C. As part if its transformation the company is changing its name to Skako Lift at Bauma.

Before you say anything the Skako name was not dreamt up by the Worldlift team in Odense, or by a highly paid corporate identity agency. It is the name of its owner, Skako Industries which is signalling its long term intentions to make Worldlift, and the access business a core operation.
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The new Skako lift logo

Worldlift was founded in 2005 when Denka Lift’s owner Skako (Then know as VS Holdings) a publicly quoted company, acquired fellow Danish manufacturer Falck Schmidt.

The Group’s main product line is concrete production equipment which it builds under the Skako brand in Denmark and the Couvrot brand in France.

The group’s original plan was to divest itself of the access business, and it has looked at this a number of times in the recent past. However last year it made the decision to make Access a core business and recruited Kenneth Loberg as Worldlift’s managing director with the brief to transform and build the company.

In the nine months of so since he joined, Loberg has transformed the business completely, closing Denka’s Holbaek and cutting manufacturing costs dramatically, while adding substantially to its production capacity and flexibility.
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Brian Falck Schmidt (L) sales and marketing director and Kennith Loburg managing director

The dramatic changes mean that the time a unit spends in production at the Odense plant has been cut by 90 percent. Delivery times have also been lowered with eight weeks now being typical, even though all products are built to order.

As part of the change, Skako Lift will launch its first articulated boom spider lift at Bauma, the 32 metre FS320Z. Not only will the new lift be a strong performer in terms of outreach, total weight and closed dimensions, but will also be carry a very competitive price.
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To learn more about the transformation at Worldlift see the March issue of Cranes & Access which will be published later this week.