Van Seumeren buys Mammoet for 111m Euros

Dutch heavylift specialist Van Seumeren plans to adopt the name of its greatest rival after taking over Mammoet Group for 111m Euros ($120m) last month.

Company president Frans van Seumeren told Cranes Today that his ultimate goal was to use the Mammoet name for all crane and transportation activities because “it is easier to pronounce – foreign customers always pronounce van Seumeren wrong”.

He added: “Mammoet is a nice name and it has a good logo.” Initially, the two brands will be used alongside each other, he said. Van Seumeren will remain the holding company but the main operating subsidiary, currently also called Van Seumeren, would increasingly use the Mammoet brand.

Van Seumeren finally reached agreement with Mammoet’s parent company Royal Nedlloyd on 22 May. Royal Nedlloyd had put Mammoet up for sale last year to concentrate on its shipping activities.

Initial discussions with Van Seumeren collapsed but were reopened in March. In a joint statement, Royal Nedlloyd and Van Seumeren said that the purchase price was ‘well above book value’.

For its money Van Seumeren gets all Mammoet’s activities, including those in the USA and Walter Wright Mammoet in Asia. In the Netherlands this includes Mammoet Stoof, Mammoet Engineering & Innovation and Mammoet Ferry Transport, as well as the 30% interest in Mammoet Shipping.

The Italian company Decafin has also agreed to sell its 33% interest in the joint venture Mammoet Decalift International.

“As a result of integrating the two companies, a limited reduction in employment may occur,” said the joint statement.

“The objective is to absorb this through the anticipated growth in business and natural attrition.” The two companies are a powerful combination. Mammoet is particularly strong in horizontal transport, while Van Seumeren specialises more in heavy lifting. They have a combined turnover of 300m Euros a year.

The deal also brings together some of the biggest lifting machinery in the world. Van Seumeren has a fleet of big Demags, including the 1,600t-capacity CC 12600, plus its in-house designed platform cranes built by its neighbour Huisman Itrec. Mammoet has several big Manitowoc cranes and a pair of Mammoet Sliding Gantry MSG-50 units (see below).

Frans van Seumeren is chief executive officer of the new company. Mammoet Group managing director Frits van Riet is chief operating officer. Rolf de Ruijter de Wildt, MD of Mammoet Transport and Mammoet Decalift, retired in April.

The deal was funded by a further dilution of the van Seumeren family’s shareholding. The family sold a chunk of shares to ABN AMRO Bank Participations and NPM Capital Holdings a couple of years ago. These shareholders have now put up more money, though the family remains the majority shareholder.