Nissan to Acquire Sweden's Atlet
Gothenburg, Sweden (ots/PRNewswire)
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., today concluded an agreement, through its subsidiary, Nissan Forklift Europe B.V., with the shareholders of Atlet AB to acquire a 100% stake in the Swedish warehouse equipment manufacturer.
"Atlet is the ideal partner for us to reinforce our position as a major player in the global material handling market thanks to their high quality products, which complement our existing product line-up," said Toshio Aoki, corporate vice president of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., in charge of the Industrial Machinery Division.
"Nissan Forklift is a natural fit for us. Not only will we have the opportunity to strengthen our product range under our existing brand name, but we will also be able to expand into new markets," said Marianne Brismar, CEO of Atlet AB.
Atlet was founded 49 years ago by Knut Jacobsson and until now has been owned by the family. "With no natural family succession, we wanted to find an industrial partner to allow us long-term development and to further strengthen the Atlet brand", said Jacobsson. "We welcome this. It is an industrial solution. It opens great potential for an exciting and rewarding future for our employees."
Nissan Forklift's key markets include Europe, USA, Japan and other global markets. Nissan Forklift's main products are engine and battery powered counterbalanced forklifts. Atlet has a strong presence in Europe, its main market, and is also experiencing growth in emerging markets.
The agreement will allow both companies to benefit from the exchange of technology and manufacturing know-how. In addition, joint purchasing opportunities are expected to improve cost competitiveness.
Combined, the companies produce more than 36,500 units worldwide a year with an annual turnover of 858 million euros. Both brands and sales networks will be operated separately in the market.
Today's agreement evolves from an existing relationship between the two companies which began in 2002 with an OEM agreement for Atlet to manufacture warehouse equipment for Nissan Forklift for selected markets across Europe.
Following the completion of the acquisition process, Nissan will appoint a new CEO at Atlet. Marianne Brismar, the current CEO, will remain as a special advisor to Atlet.
The acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of 2007 pending approval by the EU Commission.
Note to editors:
Nissan Forklift Europe B.V. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., and is part of Nissan Motor's industrial machinery division. Nissan Motor's Industrial Machinery Division produces material handling products and is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
Outline of Nissan Motor's Industrial Machinery Division
Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan
Start of forklift production: 1957
Production facilities: Japan, USA and Spain
Sales: EUR 676mil
Production: 30,000 units
Number of Employees: Approx. 1,400 (including subsidiaries)Outline of ATLET AB
Atlet was founded 49 years ago by Knut Jacobsson and since then, this family-owned business has provided new and innovative solutions for the internal material handling market.
Headquarters: Mölnlycke, Sweden
Operations: Development, manufacturing and sales of
warehouse material handling equipment
Start of production: 1958
Sales: SEK 1,685.8 million /EUR 182mil
Production: 6,500 units
Number of Employees: Approx 1,000 (including subsidiaries)Contact information:
Penny Szczepaniak
Nissan Europe
Tel: +33-1-30-13-57-87
htt://www.nissan-nfe.com
Marianne Brismar
Tel: +46-705-984124
http://www.atlet.comContact:
Contact information: Penny Szczepaniak, Nissan Europe, Tel:
+33-1-30-13-57-87; Marianne Brismar, Tel: +46-705-984124