Kato and Autogru Rigo joint venture

Euro Rigo S.p.A. is a new joint venture company in Italy of Kato Works Co. Ltd and the Rigo family of Autogru Rigo S.p.A. To be established in February 2007, the purpose of the new company is to develop, manufacture and market mobile cranes in the world market, Hiroshi Ide, a spokesman for Japanese manufacturer Kato, told IC.

It will mean new Kato cranes will again be available in Europe following an absence of several years. For Kato the move is part of a strategy to expand its product range to strengthen its mobile crane business worldwide. “A manufacturing base in Europe shall be one of the key strategies for adapting products to the future demand for mobile cranes,” Ide said.

Euro Rigo, based near Verona in Northern Italy, will be the Kato manufacturing headquarters in Europe with plans to start offering new mobile cranes for sale in that region and others “in the middle-term”. There are also plans to develop cranes that will combine the know-how and technologies of both companies and there is “some possibility” of manufacturing Kato mobile cranes at Euro Rigo in the future, Ide told IC. Current Rigo models will continue to be sold under the Rigo name “but newly developed cranes manufactured by Euro Rigo might be marketed with a badge of Kato and/or Rigo,” Ide said.

Ownership of the new company will be 80% Kato and the remaining 20% held by Autogru Rigo and the Rigo family. The executive committee will be two members from Kato and one from Rigo and there will be 40 employees. The € 3 million capital is for the working funds of Euro Rigo and for the transition of assets owned by Autogru Rigo, Ide said. Most of the Autogru Rigo current assets, including staff, will be transferred to Euro Rigo, but that the activities of Autogru Rigo S.p.A. will continue.