KONECRANES STRENGTHENS ITS POSITION IN GROWING AFRICAN MARKETS


Konecranes has in June 2007 signed an agreement to acquire 19% of the share
capital in the crane manufacturing company Dynamic Crane Systems Ltd (DCS) in
South Africa. DCS has annual net sales of approximately EUR 4 million and 60
employees. The agreement includes an option to acquire the remaining shares in
the company at a later stage. 

DCS is a leading crane manufacturing company in South Africa, specializing in
the manufacture, servicing and assembly of industrial and process cranes. DCS
and Konecranes have worked together since the early 1990s, as DCS has been a
licensee of Konecranes products for the South African market. 

“Business is growing strongly in South Africa and this strategic acquisition
will enable Konecranes to deepen its cooperation with existing customers and
continue to expand the customer base in southern Africa,” says Kari Utriainen,
Director, Konecranes Standard Lifting. “The sub-Saharan market has been
untapped by Konecranes and this acquisition will also support our expansion
efforts in this vast region.” 

DCS headquarters are in Johannesburg and it has a sales and service office in
Natal. The main industrial customer segments for DCS are automotive,
petrochemical, power, steel, paper and ports. “An interesting and important
growth area for us is the mining industry, and DCS gives us an entry into that
market,” Utriainen continues. 

“Closer cooperation with Konecranes gives us more leverage within the industry
and supports our aim of becoming the largest crane company in South Africa in
the coming years,” says Trevor Atkinson, co-founder of DCS. “The overall market
is expected to grow and infrastructure will improve during the next three years
because of the FIFA Football World Cup that will be held in the country in
2010.” 


Further information:
Press
Kari Utriainen, Director, Hoists & Components
E-mail: kari.utriainen@konecranes.com or phone +358 20 427 3305

Financial Media and Analysts:
Paul Lönnfors, IR Manager
E-mail: paul.lonnfors@konecranes.com or phone +358 20 427 2050

This press release is available at our website www.konecranes.com


Konecranes is a world-leading group of Lifting Businesses™, serving a broad
range of customers, including manufacturing and process industries, shipyards,
ports and terminals. Konecranes provides productivity-enhancing lifting
solutions and services for lifting equipment of every make. In 2006, Group
sales totalled EUR 1483 million. The Group has 7800 employees, at more than 370
locations in 41 countries. Konecranes is listed on the OMX Helsinki Stock
Exchange (symbol: KCR1V). 

www.konecranes.com