Palfinger acquires US manufacturer

Palfinger company spokesman Hannes Roither told Cranes Today, “Omaha Standard has a very good distribution network in the US, with nine of its own distributors (Omaha Standard Distribution) and more than 400 distributors for Eagle Lifts and 120 distributors for Omaha Standard Truck Bodies. Palfinger North America has approximately 100 dealers in North America. In the future, we will sell our products through a dealer network of more than 500 distributors. "

Roither said, “The products of Omaha Standard ideally complement the products of Palfinger North America. The existing management of Omaha Standard and Omaha Standard Distribution will stay in place and focus on the successful future development. Palfinger will over time utilise the strong organisation of Omaha Standard and intensify its local value creation. Additionally they have Eagle Lift pick-up Tail lifts which is a very good fit to the MBB product range as there is no overlapping.”

Roither explained that it made sense for Palfinger to acquire the US firm complete: “We had our first contact with Omaha Standard about six or seven months ago; we started due diligence three months ago. It made sense for us to acquire the entire company, and it was the right time for us to make an acquisition in the US in order to strengthen our footprint in the US and to extend the depth of local value added.

"We acquired a very modern production site, with a KTL paint shop, with experienced and dedicated employees and a very skilled and ambitious management team. They have strong products for major market segments of the US truck equipment market. So far they have not sold their products outside the US, potentials in other areas have to be evaluated in the future. Omaha Standard will, in future, be a subsidiary of Palfinger USA.”

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Note: An early version of this article contained some errors, which are corrected here.