Rigo’s existing 130t RTT 1305 with 58m boom
Although Kato Works’ short-term plans are unclear, in the long term it plans to make a four-axle 90-tonne and a five-axle 130-tonne all-terrain, perhaps for launch in 2008, according to export manager Daniele Rigo. The joint-venture deal includes rights to all of Rigo’s crane designs, though only the most recent models might be made by the company, Rigo said.
He speculated that the joint venture would also pick up Rigo’s new 50t RT 500, of which the company sold 20 units in 2006, mostly to Middle Eastern customers. He also said that he was not aware of any Euro Rigo plans to make truck cranes, but stressed that it was too early to be sure about either crane. “Possibly they will continue the RT. There have been no negative indications that the RT line would be discontinued,” he said.
When it starts up, Euro Rigo will make series-produced cranes at Rigo’s factory in Verona, Italy, and exported outside of Europe, Daniele Rigo said. He confirmed that up until January Autogru Rigo has not acted as a distributor or agent of Kato, but said he did not know if it would start in the short term. “We have just concluded the first part of the deal. We don’t know what their strategy in the short term will be.”
The new joint-venture company will draw upon resources from both companies, including Rigo’s research and development and marketing divisions.
“Production will be organised by both companies, and the selection of components will be reviewed,” he said. “For us it is not a matter of using European components because the joint venture will decide on the basis of performance and price.”
Daniele Rigo said that officials from Kato Works are traveling to Verona in January to sign the paperwork. The Euro Rigo operation is likely to begin with at least three or four Kato Works employees, plus a rotating staff of Japanese engineers working on short-term contacts, Rigo said. According to Kato, the joint-venture company starts with 40 employees but is set to grow in the short-term.
Autogru Rigo has a range of cranes, including a 50t-capacity rough-terrain crane and 65t, 80t, 90t and 130t all-terrain cranes in small batches, as well as an aerial work platform. Its operations will not change as a result of the joint venture, Daniele Rigo said. The company is owned by the Rigo family: founder Alberto and his sons Maurizio (president) and Daniele (export manager).
