Kalmar will establish its own sales company in Belgium starting on 1 June 2004 through the acquisition of BIA NV Materials Handling Equipment Division located in Antwerp.
Kalmar Belgium NV special focus will be on the heavy end of the product range: STS cranes, RTG cranes and straddle carriers, as well as terminal tractors and services.
The BIA personnel in Antwerp will form the basis for the new structure. Mr Damien Cols, current Sales Manager of BIA Antwerp, will become Managing Director, and Mr Vincent Josse, current Technical Manager of BIA Antwerp, will take over the position of Technical Director at Kalmar Belgium NV.
Before the new arrangement, Kalmar has had two distributors in Belgium: BIA and Catracom NV. BIA Antwerp division, which is now becoming part of Kalmar, is especially focused on heavy products, specifically straddle carriers and terminal tractors. Catracom focuses on counterbalanced equipment. Catracom will continue Kalmar distributor as previously.
BIA employees and customers will be an important addition to the Kalmar group. ‘’Kalmar Belgium is an important step forward according to our strategy,’’ says Christer Granskog, President and CEO of Kalmar Industries. ‘’We need to be directly involved in the most active ports of the world. This investment also expands our potential further in developing the service side of our activities. I'm convinced Kalmar Belgium will be successful, thanks to the competence of the BIA people who are warmly welcomed into our Kalmar Group.’’
Notes to editors:
Kalmar is a global provider of heavy-duty materials handling equipment and services to ports, intermodal traffic, terminals and demanding industrial customers. Kalmar focuses on supplying handling solutions that enable customers to operate with a high level of efficiency and reliability. Every fourth container or trailer transfer at terminals around the world is handled by a Kalmar machine. Kalmar provides a large range of value added services such as maintenance contracts and fleet management. Manufacturing plants are situated in Sweden (as is the head office), in Finland, the Netherlands, Estonia, Malaysia, China and the USA.
For more information:
Juhani Lukumaa, President, Container Handling,
Kalmar Industries
Tel +31 622 66 5999