Concrete pumps manufacturer merger will not negatively affect clients or company

By: Leandi Kolver 23rd March 2012 The buy-out of concrete, mortar and industrial pumps manufacturer Germany-based Putzmeister Holding by China-based Sany Heavy Industry Company will have no negative effect on Putzmeister’s customers, assures Putzmeister South Africa CEO Ludwig Geyser. In January, Putzmeister Holding announced that it had signed an agreement with Sany and Chinese private-equity company CITIC Private Equity Advisors to acquire the company. Putzmeister will remain an independent brand worldwide within the Sany group and will also continue as a premium brand in China. “After the merger, Putzmeister will conti- nue to offer an independent product portfolio, made in Germany, in accordance with the highest quality standards,” says Geyser. He states that both parties benefit substantially from the merger, as it will result in Putzmeister joining the largest pump manufacturer in the world. Sany’s financial strength will also secure Putzmeister’s growth and provides the company with a competitive advantage, he adds. Sany’s diverse product range also broadens Putzmeister’s scope of product supply. “Diversification is something that Putzmeister South Africa has always strived to achieve and, with this merger, we are now able to supply the industry with complete solutions,” he states. Sany benefits through the addition of technologically advanced products and innovations to its portfolio, as well as through acquiring a strong distribution and service network outside China, particularly in Africa. Meanwhile, Putzmeister South Africa recently introduced a new 42 m five-arm truck-mounted concrete pump, the first such product manufactured by Putzmeister that is ‘road legal’, in line with Southern African legislative requirements, says Geyser. The company has also been awarded a contract to supply an MX 32 m stationary boom placer, together with a trailer-mounted concrete pump to the Portside property devel- opment project being constructed by the Murray & Roberts group in Cape Town. “The uniqueness of this particular pro- ject is that the MX 32 m stationary boom is the first of its kind in South Africa that will hydraulically climb as the building progresses,” says Geyser. The project entails the construction of an almost 130-m-tall retail and residential building, which, upon completion, will be Cape Town’s tallest building. Putzmeister successfully installed and commissioned its equipment in February. Putzmeister Solids Pumps, a division of Putzmeister Holding, which is headed in South Africa by Hennie van Niekerk, is also making inroads into the industry by providing innovative ways to pump citrus biowaste, mine tailings, sludges and various other pumpable materials.