Liebherr has acquired Neu-Ulm, Germany-based concrete pump manufacturer Waitzinger. 
The contracts were signed last Friday by the managing directors of Liebherr-Mischtechnik of Bad Schussenried, Germany and Waitzinger Baumaschinen. No financial details have been released.

Liebherr said that Concrete pumps will complete the Liebherr-Mischtechnik product range and plans are already underway for further expansion in this area.

Waitzinger was founded in 1991 and currently employs nearly 60 specialising in the development and production of truck mounted concrete pumps, trailer concrete pumps and truck mixer concrete pumps. These products will now also be distributed by Liebherr's international sales and service organisation.



Liebherr says that the acquisition is the “perfect complement to its product range, which includes mobile and stationary mixing plants, as well as truck mixers and conveyor belts for truck mixers. The acquisition of Waitzinger means that Liebherr-Mischtechnik is now a full range supplier in the concrete technology sector”. 

Liebherr's goal is to “expand the concrete pump product range and thus improve its international competitive position in the concrete technology sector. For Waitzinger it offers opportunities for growth and secures future prospects”.

Vertikal Comment

This is an interesting move in that Liebherr rarely ever makes acquisitions, preferring to start with a clean sheet and develop organically. 

However with the acquisition of Schwing by XCMG in June Putzmeister by Sany in January and CIFA by Zoomlion in 2008 the concrete pump industry is now completely dominated by Chinese manufacturers.

The danger to Liebherr’s concrete business was that its competitors could have used their pump dominance as a conduit for their other concrete handling and production products putting pressure on a business that has taken years to build up. 

With all the ownership changes the time has probably never been better for Liebherr to make a big push into this market. The move makes excellent sense and will give the company’s overall concrete business a boost.