11.03.2008

Cramo to acquire Techniline

Cramo has agreed a deal to acquire 100 percent of the equity of Techniline the company owned by Zdenek Zilvar in the Czech Republic.

Founded in 1990 by Zdenek Zilvar as a Genie AWP aluminium dealer, Prague based Techniline is today one of the Czech Republics leading aerial lift rental companies.

The company has depots in Prague, Pardubice and Ostrava, in addition to Bratislava and Kosice in Slovakia. The company employs over 70 with revenues in excess of €8 million in 2007.

Techniline's key management will continue to run the company after the acquisition is completed and Cramo’s existing rental business in the Czech Republic will be merged into Techniline.

Zdenek Zilvar president and chief executive of Techniline said: "We are very pleased to join the Cramo Group. We are sharing the same view of rental business development and with combined resources we can serve our customers even better."

Jarmo Laasanen, senior vice president of Cramo Other Europe said: "This acquisition is perfectly aligned with Cramo's strategy in developing the second leg in the CEE area. Cramo will now reach the leading position in the rapidly growing and well developed Czech rental market whilst also getting an entry into Slovakia, where rental penetration is still quite low.”

The closing of the transaction is subject to finalizing certain technical issues. The transaction is expected to be closed during March 2008.