Marine crane business expands

Palfinger AG says that this acquisition will allow it to enter the ship-mounted crane market to supplement its current range, based on truck-related products. The NDM davit systems are primarily aimed at the SOLAS Convention vessel market, where obligatory annual servicing of the safety equipment by the manufacturer or a party certified by the manufacturer makes after-sales services a substantial part of total business operations.

Although the SOLAS market suffered a 30% decline in 2009, NDM managed to remain stable, which Palfinger considers offers opportunities for fFurther growth, particularly in the servicing business where certified quality is of top priority.

The Palfinger group expects to further expand its marine business by bringing in the marine crane division of Palfinger Systems, which is still owned by the Palfinger family. “We have been interested for quite some time in re-integrating the marine crane business into Palfinger AG as a meaningful and profitable supplement to our strategy”, explained Palfinger Group CEO Herbert Ortner.