UK rental company Ainscough Group has acquired AM Industrial Removals of Coventry. In a separate move it has also entered into a rental and service agreement with Fantuzzi UK, a subsidiary of the mobile harbour crane supplier Fantuzzi-Reggiane of Italy. Ainscough will offer Fantuzzi cranes and reach stackers to dockside customers.
Baldwins Industrial Services has taken delivery of ten GMK 3050s, the German-built three-axle, 50t capacity all-terrain Grove cranes. “We already had four and the depot managers liked them,” said Baldwins sales director Grant Mitchell.
Handi Hire Group has formed a specialist division dedicated to the hire and testing of industrial lifting equipment. It is based near Doncaster and headed by Mick Evans.
Plant hire group Hewden Stuart has reported pre-tax profits up 9% to £42.1m ($67m) for 1998. Turnover on continuing businesses rose 23% to £240.4m ($385m). The Lifting Hire business, which includes Hewden Crane Hire, Hewden Tower Cranes and Hewden Instant Access, increased turnover by 37% to £63.1m ($100m). This increase was due to growth in tower cranes and the acquisition of the access business. “In general an oversupply of equipment continues to restrain margins, although selected quality growth opportunities are available,” the company said.
Van Seumeren UK has won the contract to relocate the Wilhelm Lauritzen terminal at Copenhagen airport in Denmark.
• RCPS, the crane hire company that was formally part of the Peterhead Group, has undertaken its first lift in conjunction with its new owners, Ainscough Group. The two companies made a tandem lift at Fabricon’s plant in Immingham for Jim Parkinson Ltd. Ainscough deployed a 200t capacity Mannesmann Dematic AC 615 and RCPS deployed a 180t capacity Krupp to lift two 80t cracking oil vessels onto transport bound for Norway. Fabricon is fitting out 24 vessels for the Norwegian oil company Hasto.
