The MAN Group has sold its subsidiary MAN Wolffkran GmbH to a private German-Swiss investment group headed by Dr. Peter Schiefer and Dr. Hans-Peter Koller.

MAN Wolffkran, based in Heilbronn, Germany, produces, sells, and hires out tower cranes for the building industry. In 2004, the company generated sales of €35 million with its 200 employees.

The group acquiring the subsidiary claimed that it aimed to offer long-term prospects to the company, which will operate under the Wolffkran brand. All production sites are to be retained and no job cuts are planned.

Dr. Schiefer will take a leading role in managing operations. He said: “The long term perspective of the 150 years Wolffkran is our guidance for a long term commitment for the company. Wolffkran has the engineering competence and the distribution and service structures for independent growth activities.”

Dr. Schiefer previously held a management position at Goldmann Sachs in London and was involved in the management of various business units at Siemens AG.

For the MAN Group, this sale represents a step towards focusing on its five divisions of Commercial Vehicles, Industrial Services, Printing Systems, Diesel Engines, and Turbo machines. MAN took over Wolffkran completely in 1975, after holding a majority share in the company since 1953.