Collins Crane acquired

New Zealand: New Zealand Crane Hire has bought Wellington crane company Collins Cranes Ltd for an undisclosed amount. Collins Cranes will become the Wellington office of NZ CraneHire.

The purchase establishes NZ Crane Hire in the Wellingtonregion where it plans to use the acquisition as a base to “grow into the premier nationwide lifting and access solution provider,” the company said.

Collins Cranes has been in business for more than 20 years operating cranes up to 110 tons capacity. General manager, Chris Collins, will remain as the Wellington regional manager for NZ Crane Hire.

Deane Manley, NZ Crane Hire Group CEO, said, “We believe Collins Cranes is the market leader in the Wellington region and plan to use our existing Wellington Access Hire and Tower Crane operations to leverage this position even further. NZ Crane Hire will offer the broadest range of lifting options in the region.”

The purchase of Collins is part of expansion plans resulting from an equity investment from a Pencarrow/AMP fund in December 2005 that enabled the acquisition of Bay Of Plenty-based rental company Todd &Pollock in February.