14.07.2008

Manitowoc's new UK facility

Manitowoc Crane Group has finally confirmed details of its new facility in the UK, which will open later this year in Gawcott, near the market town of Buckingham in the UK midlands.

The new facility will handle sales and service activities for Grove mobile cranes, Manitowoc crawler cranes and Potain tower cranes for the UK and Ireland. The new location will be fully operational by the fourth quarter of this year.

Manitowoc currently operates in the U.K. from facilities in Uxbridge, Middlesex and Sunderland, Tyne and Wear. Both of these will operations will close in September when the new Buckingham facility opens.

The new facility will have sales and administration offices as well as an extensive Manitowoc Crane Care customer service operation. This will include a parts warehouse and workshops offering full service, repair and training facilities to support U.K. customers. The company says that once complete its total U.K. staffing levels will rise over current levels.

Steve Barnett, managing director of Manitowoc U.K, said: “The number of cranes we have in the U.K. and Ireland has grown in recent years and customers want to be sure they are getting optimum productivity from their cranes. By moving to this dedicated crane base, we ensure that we can provide the levels of service our customers expect.”

Frans Vanwinkel, Manitowoc’s senior vice president of sales and marketing for the Europe, Mid-East and Africa region, added: “We are looking to expand our operations in the U.K. and Ireland. This new facility will allow us to get closer to our customers and ultimately help them get more from their cranes.”

Thibaut Le Besnerais, vice president of Manitowoc Crane Care, said: “Our company has a long tradition in the U.K. and Ireland and as a manufacturer, we put a strong emphasis on our ability to support them. This new facility gives us the industry-leading service capability we need and excellent access to transport links for all areas of the U.K. and Ireland.”

Vertikal Comment
This new facility will be the second major crane operation to open this year, Terex Cranes recently moved into its new facility in Long Crendon near Thame and will officially open the facility in August.

Manitowoc’s new facility is a handy commute away and close to Grove’s old production facility and UK base in Bicester

Meanwhile Liebherr Great Britain has been expanding its UK distribution base in Biggleswade, Hertfordshire. Liebherr kicked off this investment in new crane facilities when it opened its facility in 2005. At that time the new offices, workshops and test pads looked big enough for the foreseeable future, but the company reports that it has outgrown them already.

The new Terex and Manitowoc facilities are, like the Liebherr one, both purpose built from the ground up. One can imagine that customers when customers are invited in they will be comparing what they see with the other two.