Days after Finnish rental giant Cramo acquired a western Swedish multi-branch rental company, top competitor Ramirent, also based in Finland, signed an agreement to acquire Hyrman i Lund AB, one of the leading equipment rental firms in southern Sweden. With operations in seven locations, mostly in the Halland and Scania regions of Sweden, Hyrman i Lund AB has annual net sales of about €15 million (about U.S. $21.7 million).

Ramirent said the acquisition will bring synergy benefits in logistics and purchasing, as well as improve the utilization of capital-intensive machinery.

“The acquisition complements our current outlet network,” said Peter Dahlsten, senior vice president of Ramirent Sweden. “We now have much better coverage in southern Sweden and will be closer to our customers. The vision and objectives of Hyrman i Lund AB match ours very well. The acquisition brings us new competencies and strengthens our service level and local presence.”

“We began looking for a bigger partner and Ramirent turned out to be the best candidate,” said Johnny Svensson, managing director of Hyrman i Lund. “Our operations have developed well but we needed bigger muscles in order to take the next step and to meet the growth expectations of the industry. We believe this is a good solution for our employees and our company.”

Ramirent, which operates in 13 European countries, had annual net sales of €145 million (about U.S. $210 million) in Sweden in 2010, with about 80 branches.