Finland based international rental giant Cramo strengthened its position in the earthmoving market with the acquisition of all the shares of Finnish privately owned rental company OptiRent. Founded in 2007, OptiRent is the market leader in Finland in the rental of earthmoving equipment weighing less than 10 tons, Cramo said. OptiRent’s revenues in 2013 were €2.3 million (about U.S. $3.2 million).
Cramo plans to establish a new service unit for earthmoving equipment in Vantaa, Finland, combining Cramo’s and OptiRent’s operations, specializing in earthmoving and excavation. The unit will be led by OptiRent managing director Joni Ihalainen.
“We foresee substantial growth potential in earthmoving rental business in Finland, as the rental penetration rate in this segment is still on a relatively low level compared to the rest of Europe,” said Tatu Hauhio, managing director of Cramo Finland. “By acquiring OptiRent, Cramo will gain more expertise and customer knowledge in the earthmoving rental business, which helps us to serve our customers even better in this line of business.”
“The rental of earthmoving equipment has experienced very rapid growth in the past three years,” added Ihalainen. “However, market development has been slowed down by the small size of the current rental players and weak possibilities for new investments. By merging with Cramo, we will gain more resources for growth and operational development.”
With OptiRent on board, Cramo will own more than 400 earthmoving machines in Finland.
Hauhio and Ihalainen said the company’s main competitors in earthmoving rental are not other rental companies but customers owning their own equipment.
Based in Vantaa, Finland, near Helsinki, Cramo has branches in 15 central and northern European countries.
