Hiab, part of Cargotec, has entered into an agreement to acquire the family-owned Swedish industrial group Olsbergs, which designs, manufactures and supplies hydraulic valves and remote control systems used to manoeuvre Hiab’s truck mounted loader cranes and forestry cranes. The closing takes place on 1 January 2023 and the integration of Olsbergs into Hiab as a separate business unit starts immediately after closing.
Olsbergs’ industry-leading hydraulic and remote systems have been used by Hiab since the mid-80s. Remote controls from Olsbergs are currently offered to Hiab customers as CombiDrive 3 and CombiDrive 4. Olsbergs valves and CombiDrive remote controls combined with the SPACEevo software, developed by Hiab, are the three most important parts of Hiab’s advanced control systems.
After the acquisition is completed, Olsbergs will become a business unit in Hiab’s Loader Cranes Light & Medium division and all 100 employees join Hiab. The current owners remain in the business in their current roles. The Olsbergs name will remain as an endorsed brand: Olsbergs, a Hiab company.
“Olsbergs technology has been instrumental in making Hiab the leading provider of the most advanced loader cranes on the market. By making Olsbergs a part of Hiab, we strengthen our technology leadership and can accelerate the development of our loader cranes and shape the future of smart and sustainable load handling,” says Barry McGrane, Senior Vice President, Loader Cranes Light & Medium, Hiab.
“I look forward to welcoming 100 new colleagues from Olsbergs to Hiab. One of our key growth strategies is through acquisitions, and the competence in valve and remote control technology we now bring to Hiab will ensure we are able to further accelerate developing integrated design solutions that will enable us to continue to set the industry standard for control systems that are safer, faster, and easier to use,” says Scott Phillips, President, Hiab.
“After decades of close cooperation, we look forward to becoming part of Hiab. We see it as a natural next step in Olsberg’s more than 100-year history where we now have the opportunity, together with Hiab, to further strengthen Olsberg’s brand and take the next step in technology and growth. As the operations will remain and grow both in Eksjö and Vallentuna, we have secured local jobs and created the best potential for future growth,” say Christina Henriksson and Jan-Erik Steen, Olsbergs.
The modern-day Olsbergs can trace its origins to 1906 when Olsbergs Gjuteri AB was founded in Bruzaholm, Eksjö, Sweden. In 1976 Olsbergs Hydraulics AB was founded in Eksjö, and Olsbergs Electronics, located in Vallentuna, Sweden, was founded in 1996. Currently, 85% of Olsbergs production is delivered to Hiab.