// Cover Story
The jewel in the crown Italy’s Raimondi Cranes ventures to new heights
I
t was on the eve of the last ConExpo that it was announced that Raimondi Cranes had been acquired by KBW Investments, a company founded and chaired by the California-born Saudi prince HRH Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal. The acquisition of the Italian cranemaker came at a turbulent period for the Italian construction equipment and automotive industries as it was seemingly being picked off by a series of circling investors. Concrete specialist Cifa had been purchased by Zoomlion in 2008 and Dressta fell to fellow Chinese giant LiuGong in 2012. By the time KBW Investments picked up Raimondi in 2014, it felt like the country’s manufacturing base was being stripped away. Fast-forward three years and it is clear that, in the case of Raimondi Cranes, the slide into KBW’s swollen and highly diverse portfolio has signalled a new beginning. It goes to ConExpo with a renewed sense of purpose and vigour to take on the US market. But it is also surging forwards in other markets where it had previously stalled and, unsurprisingly given KBW’s standing in the region, the Middle East and North Africa is a stand-out destination. 64
Now that we’ve gained so much ground in Europe and the Middle East, it’s time to re-engage North America.” “Raimondi Cranes was officially launched as a ‘direct’ entity in the MENA region after the KBW Investments acquisition,” explains technical director, Eng. Domenico Ciano of the Legnano, Milan-based company. “That being said, Raimondi products, especially our range of tower cranes, were already at work in the region long before the acquisition. The main change post-acquisition was that Raimondi’s Middle East main headquarters in Dubai functions as a client-direct office, not in an agent or third party capacity. Dealing with Raimondi in the Middle East is the same as dealing directly with Raimondi’s global headquarters in Italy.” Ciano performs dual roles as an
// construction business news me // March 2017
executive and as the head of Raimondi’s technical team. He is responsible for all R&D and all technical aspects at the heritage manufacturer. He tells CBNME, that the company will focus on reconnecting with its North American customers at the event. “It’s less about raising our profile, and more about getting back in touch with our North American client base and reintroducing the brand itself. Formerly, Raimondi Cranes had a decent market share in North America – we weren’t the biggest player by far but we did have solid repeat clientele and market interest. The company went through some significant shifts, and during that period we weren’t attending to the US and Canada the way we probably should have,” he explains. “Now that we’ve gained so much ground in Europe and the Middle East, it’s time to re-engage North America. He adds that the past two years in the Australian market have also been been truly “phenomenal” with its two agents there clearing benchmark after benchmark. “This success, in a competitive and hyper-driven Western market, has helped to shape our strategy