The Manitowoc Co., a global manufacturer of cranes and lifting solutions, and Tokyo-based Kobelco Construction Machinery Co., one of Japan’s largest manufacturers of construction equipment, will not renew their OEM supply agreement that began in November 2003. In that agreement, Kobelco supplied Manitowoc-branded lattice-boom crawler crane models with lift capacities of less than 150 tons to the worldwide Manitowoc distribution network, and Manitowoc supplied Kobelco-branded all-terrain crane models for marketing in Japan.
The global alliance is scheduled to end Nov. 9, 2018. Kobelco will continue to support Manitowoc and its customers, and Manitowoc will continue to support Kobelco and its customers, with service parts for a period of 10 years.
“As a world leader in lattice-boom crawler cranes, Manitowoc provided our customers with a comprehensive line through our alliance with Kobelco,” said Barry Pennypacker, president and CEO of The Manitowoc Co. “The company has been an excellent partner, providing our customers with a high standard of product quality and reliability. After nearly 15 years, we have agreed to pursue separate ways developing our own products in the smaller capacity cranes to serve our respective customers. With the implementation of The Manitowoc Way, we will continue to deliver new and innovative quality products, on time, ensuring that our customers continue to have the right product offerings.”
“Manitowoc has an outstanding reputation around the world and offered a strong distribution network in regions it serves globally,” said Kazuhide Naraki, president and CEO of Kobelco Construction Machinery. “I can say our partnership was very successful between two highly respected industry players joining forces. I feel strongly that both companies share the same approach – focusing on customers with care and bringing to market reliable products which have a high standard of quality and safety. We look forward to a new chapter in growing our businesses.”
About the Author
Michael Roth
Editor
Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.