17.01.2008

Verticon completes its withdrawal from NZ

The Verticon Group has sold the remainder of its New
Zealand based business to Daniel Smith Industries for NZ$13million ($10 million)

The sale includes the 14 crawler cranes and seven mobile cranes,
ancillary equipment and hire agreements and concludes Verticon’s exit from the New Zealand market.

Verticon sold its New Zealand based tower crane and hoist business to Texas based Lewis equipment in December See Lewis buys into New Zealand

Verticon’s managing director, Andrew Torrington, said the sale was part of Verticon’s strategy in recapitalising the Group and will now enable Verticon to start investing in a significant number of new tower cranes and hoists to expand its fleet of 100 tower cranes and 65 hoists in Australia.

Torrington said: “this sale now completes the sale of the New Zealand business which we see as a positive step forward for the Group. In conjunction with the new workshop, yard and office facility being built in Queensland and due for completion in April 2008, Verticon is now well placed to grow its fleet and service its growing client base in Queensland, New South Wales, Canberra, Victoria and Adelaide”.

Daniel Smith managing director of Daniel Smith Industries based in Rangiora, New Zealand, and general manager of Verticon New Zealand, said: “The acquisition of the business is a sensible way forward for both companies and we look forward to continuing working with Verticon in Australia in regards to large scale, heavy lift equipment.”

This is a roll-back deal in that Daniel Smith sold his mobile, crawler and tower crane business to Verticon Australia in 2005 for NZ$41 million. Smith retains his five percent share in the Australian business.