14.12.2001

Snorkel Europe GmbH closes

Snorkel’s facilities at Butzbach in Germany will close at the end of this year. Changes are also underway in the UK with Rod Lean, until now Snorkel's general manager in Europe, moving to Australia at the end of this year. Omniquip Textron will however continue to have an office at Wotton Bassett in the UK and APS continues to act as Snorkel’s UK dealer.

The situation in Germany is less clear as Snorkel Europe GmbH is being closed and its director Hassan Houmani is taking up alternative employment at the start of the new year. Omniquip Textron is talking to a number of companies that have expressed interest in taking over the Snorkel spare parts and service business. Other companies are understood to have expressed an interest in taking on the Snorkel dealership and selling new equipment.
Please register to see all images

An uncertain future for Snorkel

In Scandinavia the Snorkel brand also faces a difficult time as its Swedish dealer, Kranlyft, has been put up for sale by its new owner Metso of Finland. Metso bought Svedala which owns Kranlyft, in September. Since then Metso has confirmed that Svedala has been trying to sell Kranlyft for some time. Metso has told Kranlyft staff that it will consider all options if a buyer cannot be found soon.

One of Snorkel’s longest established European dealers is Belgian-based Heli. Peter Lippenson told Vertikal.net that his company had a large supply of Snorkel spare parts that he would continue to offer throughout Europe. He added that the supply of spare parts from the US had improved considerably since it was consolidated in Port Washington. He said that he also expected to continue selling new Snorkel platforms but was awaiting further news from the US.

Dave O’Dell Vice President Sales/Brand Management for OmniQuip Textron told Vertikal.net in an e-mailed statement that “Business will be as usual” and that “Parts and service will be available provided by our authorized Snorkel dealers”.

See also:

[[link:http://www.vertikal.net/en/stories.php?id=150]]Kato Cranes (UK) Ltd up for sale
[[link]]

****************************************************
Advertisement: Spare parts and technical service for all Snorkel Equipment from Heli. Call Marcel or Lindsay +32 9 252 4222 Fax: +32 9 252 6848 [email protected]
****************************************************