16.06.2022

Uperio takes Compass

French international tower crane group Uperio has acquired US based tower crane and hoist rental company Compass Equipment.

Compass is based in Gilbert, Arizona in greater Phoenix with three further locations in Denver, Colorado, the greater Los Angeles area in California and Las Vegas, Nevada with around 70 employees. operates a fleet of 45 tower cranes and 45 hoists. The company is an authorised Potain tower crane dealer and has a long standing partnership with Alimak.

The company was founded by chief executive Kelly Hadland and general manager Ray Bellamy in 2007 with a single self-erecting tower crane operating from Hadland’s back yard. Today Compass offers sales, rental and service for all types of tower cranes as well as construction and industrial hoists, for both personnel and materials. The company also provides qualified crane and equipment operators to its customers when required.
The two founders will remain with the business under Uperio ownership and continue to manage the company along with the reast of the current team.

Uperio chief executive Philippe Cohet said: "Compass is an addition with excellent potential for us in every respect: on the one hand, the four depots in the west of the USA provide very important access to regions with good development prospects in residential construction, and on the other hand, it provides a broader overall product offering to our group. While the market in the regions is competitive, we believe that with a strengthening of Compass' operating model and support of Uperio group in multiple dimensions, we will be able to profitably accelerate its growth, especially with their healthy order backlog"

“We aim high, we act as a game changer, and we are people driven. With our new colleagues from the western USA, we plan to raise the quality of our operations, to continue investing in the fleet and gain a premium market leadership position thanks to the unique quality of our people. We are very excited about our future.”
Kelly Hadland of Compass added, "We are pleased to have found a partner in Uperio that has the resources and expertise to lead Compass into a bright future - building on the solid foundation we have established. The markets in our regions are promising, and we are confident that we will wisely execute plans for further growth with its proven management expertise."

Uperio was acquired by UK/US based private equity firm TowerBrook Capital last June from its former private equity owners LFPI group, Sofina and Gigarant and the senior management team.

The company now has more than 2,200 tower cranes in its fleet and employs around 600 at its locations in France, UK, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Sweden and the USA, where it already has three locations: Atlanta- Georgia, Dallas-Texas and Washington DC- having taken full control of its joint venture PJ Arcomet last year.

This is the second acquisition the company has made this year, having acquired French tower crane sales and rental business LaurentKeller last month.

Update
Just after this announcement was made Uperio confirmed the appointment of Fred Daniels as executive vice present with responsibility for its North American businesses. See: Uperio appoints new US head.
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Fred Daniels