Equipment Report

Manitowoc Co., a maker of high-capacity lattice-boom crawler cranes and tower cranes, has completed its acquisition of Grove Investors Inc. for $271 million. The Manitowoc, Wisc.-based manufacturer broadens its product line with the acquisition of Grove.

"We’re pleased to officially welcome Grove to the Manitowoc family," says Terry D. Growcock, Manitowoc’s president and CEO. "The acquisition represents a strong growth opportunity for Manitowoc by adding mobile cranes to our product offering. In addition, it confirms our position as the world’s leading provider of lifting equipment for the construction industry."

Grove becomes part of Manitowoc’s Crane segment, adding its line of mobile hydraulic cranes, truck-mounted cranes and boom trucks to Manitowoc’s line of lattice-boom crawler cranes and tower cranes. Grove’s primary manufacturing facility is in Shady Grove, Pa.

The company had to divest itself of its boom trucks division to comply with a U.S. Department of Justice, according to Manitowoc treasurer Carl J. Laurino.

Manitowoc Co. makes lattice-boom cranes, tower cranes, mobile hydraulic cranes, boom trucks and related products primarily for the construction industry, though some cranes are used in demolition, scrap recycling and steel mill services applications. Manitowoc also makes ice-cube machines, ice/beverage dispensers and commercial refrigeration equipment for the food service industry, as well as providing ship repair, conversion and new-construction services for the Great Lakes maritime industry.

INSTALLATIONS

• CM SELLS SHREDDER TO WISCONSIN FIRM

Watertown Tire Recyclers LLC, Watertown, Wisc., has installed a new CM Stationary Tire Shredding System made by Columbus McKinnon Corp., Sarasota, Fla.

The system is used to process steel belted passenger and truck tires to make tire-derived fuel (TDF) and feed stock for crumb rubber production. This is the third CM system purchased by Watertown Tire Recyclers since the company began its shredding operations in 1997.

Watertown Tire Recyclers, whose primary market is TDF, chose CM equipment for its reliability, clean cut and low operating costs. Since purchasing their first machine in 1997, the relationship between the two companies has flourished.

"The CM machine’s ability to produce clean cut chips, provides us with the preferred feedstock for our crumb rubber equipment," says Tom Springer, CEO of Watertown Tire Recyclers. "The versatility of the CM machine and its flexibility in layout configurations has enabled Watertown Tire Recyclers to remain market flexible and to react quickly to market demand."

Columbus McKinnon Corporation is the world’s leading manufacturer of systems that are specifically designed and manufactured for the reduction of scrap tires and has systems operating in 12 foreign countries.

Metso Lindemann, with American headquarters in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has introduced its latest innovation in scrap shears designed to process scrap more flexibly and profitably.

The company, formerly known as Svedala Lindemann, designs and makes scrap shears, balers and shredders as part of the Finnish-owned company Metso Minerals.

Metso has sold and installed its first new-generation "EC" scrap shear in the U.S. at the yard of a major scrap processing firm in the Great Lakes region.

The new "EC" generation of scrap shears offers advanced features, including an optimized drive and control system that reduces cycle times by more than 15 percent. "Our previous success with the sale of shears and balers in the U.S. made us confident the new design would be well accepted," says Bill Tigner, vice president and general manager of the Metso Minerals Metal Recycling division. "However, we never anticipated receiving a new order so quickly after its presentation to the market," he adds.

According to Metso, effective compression forces in the EC shears are increased with no increase in driving capacity. The installed operating programs are also designed to process the widest range of scrap efficiently while automatically identifying the most effective mode for a specific material.