With the demerger of Kalmar and the sale of MacGregor on the cards, the Cargotec name will soon be no more, with Hiab returning to being a standalone company again. The company has not been independent since 1985 when it was acquired by Partek, which was then acquired by Kone in 2002, with Hiab and its sister companies forming the Kone Cargotec division. The division was demerged in 2005 to become just Cargotec.
While the Kalmar demerger process is all approved and moving forward, MacGregor had a dispute to settle with a monopile installation vessel customer which it has now done at a cost of €25 million. The failed contract relates to a one off monopile installation solution/project. This type of product has now been dropped from the company’s range, although it still has 10 simpler projects to complete - all of them loss making. With the dispute settled, Cargotec is preparing to proceed with the sale of the company - leaving Hiab all alone as a publicly quoted company.
MacGregor president Leif Byström said: “It is an important milestone for us to reach a settlement with the customer related to the monopile installation vessel project. Our solution was technically advanced but we were unable to reach agreement between the companies on the way forward in the lengthy project. Having the dispute resolved means that we are in an even stronger position than before to further build on our profitability journey.”
Hiab president Scott Phillips
Once the Kalmar and MacGregor transactions are complete Cargotec chief executive Casimir Lindholm will step down, with the current president of Hiab - Scott Phillips - taking over as chief executive of an independent Hiab, while Cargotec’s current chief financial officer Mikko Puolakka will remain in this role for Hiab.
Phillips joined Hiab in 2018 from GE (General Electric) where he was chief executive of its mining division. He joined GE in 2016 after four years with Sandvik Mining, initially as president of its Loading and Hauling operation and since 2013 a head of its global equipment business. See: New president for Hiab
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