Crosby acquires Straightpoint

The Crosby Group LLC in the USA has acquired UK-based load cell and force measurement equipment manufacturer Straightpoint.

Dallas, Texas-based Crosby is promoted as the largest lifting, rigging, and material handling hardware company in the world. The acquisition took effect on 2 January 2019 and the terms of the deal were undisclosed.

Straightpoint’s factory and headquarters are in Hampshire and will be retained as will key personnel in the USA, Crosby said.

David Ayling, Straightpoint CEO, will take on a new role overseeing sales, marketing, and product development, reporting to Robert Desel, Crosby chief commercial officer. Commenting on the deal, Ayling said, “SP has built a very strong team focused on innovation and high service levels and we wanted to ensure we could maintain and capitalise on these important features of the company. Crosby’s brand, its channel strength, global reach, and management team will enable us to build on our strengths and take the business to a new level. Becoming part of Crosby represents an opportunity to deliver our solutions to more customers and increase the pace of our innovation. It is an exciting new chapter for SP, its team members, and customers.”

Robert Desel said, “We’ve had a close relationship with SP for quite a while - its load shackles are based on the industry standard Crosby G2130 shackle, and we use SP products on our safe rigging trucks. SP’s position as a leader and innovator in load measurement and monitoring, and the opportunity to integrate its technology into our already strong portfolio, made this a compelling addition to Crosby. Safe lifting is in Crosby’s DNA and load monitoring is a critical part of that equation. Monitored lifts are inherently safer and we can now increase adoption of this best practice on a global scale.”