Philippe Cohet to give keynote speech at ITC

He will speak on the big picture of tower crane rental and how ESG initiatives can benefit the industry.

Uperio offers tower crane rental, sales and related services. It manufactures Arcomet self erecting tower cranes and the Opti crane for contractors, roofers and carpenters. The company was formed from the merger of Matebat in France and Arcomet in Belgium. It has facilities in nine countries employing more than 600 people and operating a fleet of around 2,200 tower cranes. 

Speaker information

Philippe Cohet is a graduate of the École Nationale Supérieure des Mines. He began his career in the chemical industry with the Rhone Poulenc Group, later known as Rhodia, where he held various management positions over twenty years. From 1998 to 2001, he served as Group Purchasing Director and later as Managing Director of the Rare Earths business unit.

In 2004, he transitioned from chemicals to the crane industry by joining Manitowoc as Vice President for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, and as President of Potain in France - a company acquired by Manitowoc in 2002. During his ten-year tenure, he played a key role in expanding the global reach of the group’s products, especially Potain tower cranes.

In 2014, he became President of Arcomet, the leading tower crane rental, distribution, and services company in Northern Europe, based in Belgium. A year later, he also took the helm of Matebat, the market leader in France. With both companies sharing the same majority shareholder, his mission was to align the two organisations, encourage best practice sharing, and drive synergies. This effort culminated in a legal merger in July 2019, creating Uperio.

In 2021, he successfully led the group through a change in majority ownership, with the transition to the Anglo-Saxon investment fund TowerBrook. TowerBrook has a strong track record across various industrial sectors and is recognized for its long-standing commitment to social and environmental responsibility, formally reinforced through its B Corp certification.

Within the DLR (the French national association for rental and distribution companies), he helped establish the Tower Crane Commission, which he went on to chair. This commission was created to address new industry regulations and support member companies in navigating these changes. He also joined the board of the Syndicat des Monteurs et Dépanneurs de Grues à Tour (Association of Tower Crane Erector & Maintenance Technicians) and contributed to its integration into the DLR. In 2021, he was elected President of the DLR. Since then, his mandate has been renewed twice, reflecting the trust placed in him by the members. In this role, he oversees the federation’s initiatives, and engages with public authorities and industry partners to defend the sector’s interests.

Speaker line up

Cohet is one of a number of confirmed speakers for the event, including:

Francesco Aiello (general manager of Terex Tower Cranes): Challenges and changes in the global crane market: a manufacturer’s perspective

Federico Della Puppa (head of Analysis and Strategies, Smart Land): Construction market insights: Italy and Europe

Teddy Holt (operations director, Radius Group, supported by Skyline Cranes and technologies): Operating a tower crane from the ground: a case study from the UK

Daniel Gwóźdź (CEO & co-founder, Krupinski Cranes:) Future drive technology for tower cranes

Andrew Deakin (technical director, Dumarey Green Power), Frank Vermeulen (co-founder, Near Grid Solutions) and Steve Bradby (technical and engineering leader, Select Plant Hire): Round-table on Transforming energy efficiency in tower crane operations

Other speakers and topics will be confirmed soon.

The event starts with a site visit/city tour on the afternoon of 3 June (advance booking required), followed by a networking reception in the evening. The full-day conference is on 4 June.

For more details visit the event website at https://khl-itc.com. The booking page can be found here. 

Event partners and sponsors

The exclusive event partner for the event is the Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association. International Cranes and Specialized Transport also acknowledges the assistance of the Italian rental and distributors association, Assodimi.

Gold sponsors are Liebherr and Potain. Silver sponsor is Wolffkran. The breaks sponsor is Kito Crosby.

Bronze sponsors are: AMPD Energy, Bondura Technology, Dumarey, FT Technologies, Jaso Tower Cranes, Krupinski Tower Cranes, net (North East Telecommunications) and UltraWis.