Hiab — part of Cargotec and a global leader in on-road load handling — has agreed to acquire the Effer loader cranes business from the CTE Group (for an ‘enterprise value’ of 50 million euros).

This significantly advances Hiab’s ambition to be the global leader in cranes.

Hiab (www.hiab.com) has been renewing and expanding its loader cranes portfolio since 2016, and the acquisition of Effer Hiab will expand its range of heavy cranes, a segment in which Effer is recognised as a global leader.

Following Hiab’s acquisition of the Brazilian company Argos in October 2017, its brands now include Loglift and Jonsored forestry and recycling cranes.

Roland Sunden, president of Hiab, said: “I am happy to welcome Effer to the Hiab family.

“This acquisition is a bold step, in line with our growth strategy to be the global leader in on-road load handling and loader cranes in particular — the industry that Hiab founded nearly 75 years ago.”

Effer, which was founded in 1965, has over 50 years’ experience in developing and manufacturing knuckle-boom cranes, with its product range encompassing truck cranes with a 3-300 tonne lifting capacity, special-application truck cranes, and marine cranes.

Effer has its headquarters in Minerbio, Italy, and has about 400 employees.

The company’s sales in 2017 were 71 million euros.

The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals, expected to be received in the second half of 2018.