Tadano is to acquire IHI Transport Machinery Co, the crane and material handling subsidiary of IHI Corporation.
Established in 1973 the Transport Machinery subsidiary’s current product range includes a combination of port and yard handling cranes along with a large climbing Luffing Jib Tower Cranes for high rise tower construction, along with Port and Large Offshore Cranes, Wind Power Cranes, Floating Cranes and Bulk Handling Systems.
The division had sales last year of ¥73.4 billion ($476.8 million) with an operating profit of ¥2.8 billion ($18.1 million) and assets of ¥19.1 billion ($124 million). No information on the sale price has been disclosed so far. The transaction is expected to close at the start of July 2025.
A selection from the current range of IHI cranes
The IHI group business was founded in 1853 as Ishikawajima Shipyard and acquired the name Ishikawajima Heavy Industries before merging with Harima Shipbuilding & Engineering in 1960, to become Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries, or IHI. In 2007, the company adopted its current title ‘IHI Corporation’, going forward the group will focus its efforts on its Aero engine, Defence and Space divisions. At one time the IHI produced mini crawler and mid-size crawler cranes and had a supply and badging deal with Terex/Demag in the Americas which Tadano acquired in 2019.
Tadano said: “This acquisition brings valuable expertise to Tadano, building on their achievements and enabling synergies with our German based Crawler Crane business and aligns with our Mid-Term Management Plan to deliver new value for our customers’ business endeavours by diversifying the equipment portfolio to include a broader set of lifting solutions. It represents an important addition to Tadano’s growth strategy, advancing its position in the global lifting equipment market.”
Tadano chief executive Toshiaki Ujiie added: “We are excited to further enact our Mid-Term Management Plan through this acquisition. Tadano remains focused on the global lifting market and offers over a century of industry experience. However, Tower and Port Cranes are new products for our group, and they give Tadano the ability to develop deeper relationships with our customers and better serve their lifting needs. Additionally, the Ring Lift Cranes offer many synergies with our Lattice Boom Crawler Cranes manufactured by Tadano in Germany, and we anticipate these cranes will supplement our offshore wind power equipment needs.”
“This acquisition represents a strong commitment to customers and stakeholders,” adds Ujiie. “The combination of their transportation system business with Tadano’s existing resources is expected to deliver even greater value and strengthen leadership in the crane industry.”
Vertikal Comment
An interesting move by Tadano, its second acquisition in as many months following on from the Manitex deal announced in September. One assumes that the IHI material handling business has good management in place, making the acquisition a good deal easier and more practical. Branding will be an interesting issue.
We will read the full prospectus and possibly add to this comment later.
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