Volvo to buy CeDe

Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) is to acquire CeDe Group, which adapts machinery for special applications, for an undisclosed sum.

CeDe Group is based in Malmo, Sweden, and the deal – which is expected to come into force by mid-March – will include its intellectual property, operations, other assets and staff of approximately 45 full-time employees.

As the annual volumes produced are relatively low, Volvo CE said the deal would have no material effect on its income or financial position.

Volvo said that CeDe Group had a good reputation in Scandinavia as a low-volume adaptor of construction and mining machinery for special applications.

Working for several leading OEMs, including Volvo CE and its dealers, adaptations include developing new bodies for haulers – for fuel, water or waste, for example – rail conversions for wheeled excavators, and conversions for underground mining applications etc.

The company was formed in 2000, and can trace its roots back to Volvo’s original excavator business, Åkerman.

Under Volvo CE’s ownership, the vision is said to be that CeDe would remain “an agile, entrepreneurial, standalone business”.

Volvo CE said it would make its competences available to the company and add additional resources to allow it to expand its market reach and customer bases, becoming a European leader in this specialised field.

It added that a strengthened partner would also support Volvo CE’s objectives of expanding its product offering into new segments and applications, as well as providing a partner that could deliver low volume prototypes and production runs.

The company will continue to provide and expand its engineering services to non-Volvo CE customers.

Volvo CE president Melker Jernberg said, “This acquisition makes sense on a number of strategic levels. CeDe has already proved that it has a depth of engineering talent in adapting our machines for specialised applications.

“This closer relationship will allow Volvo CE to grow our product offerings while at the same time boosting CeDe’s ability to expand into new markets and segments, both with Volvo CE and its other OEM customers.”

CeDe Group’s chief executive, Krister Johnsson, said, “We are extremely pleased to be joining the Volvo CE family of companies. With our already long and good relationship with Volvo CE and deep understanding of its products, we are excited at the opportunities to develop our services and expand our reach into new markets.”