Australian and Canadian acquisitions help Morris grow

Morris Material Handling has purchased two Australian companies, the materials handling company Powerlec Pty Ltd and crane builder JDN Monocrane, as well as Overhead Crane Service & Supply Company Ltd of Canada.

Powerlec, now called Morris Powerlec, is based in Sydney and has a strong reputation for equipment service and specialised material handling projects, according to the new owners. Melbourne-based JDN Monocrane is a regional manufacturer of overhead travelling cranes, jib cranes and electric hoists.

The Australian acquisitions give Morris representation and offices in Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney and Brisbane.

Morris vice president for Middle East and Asia Pacific markets Mike Maddock said that the Australia investment was “an important step in our strategy to develop the Morris Material Handling business worldwide”.

Though Morris Bloom in Singapore and Morris Asia Pacific Malaysia are well established, Morris had been absent from Australia for 10 years.

Meanwhile, in Canada, the acquisition of Overhead Crane Service & Supply Company (OCS) was described by Morris as “a significant opportunity to increase sales of Morris and P&H branded products in eastern Canada”.

OCS was started in 1965 and is based in Burlington, Ontario. It provides standard overhead cranes to the general industrial marketplace, maintenance services on all makes of cranes, modernisation of existing cranes, replacement parts for all makes of crane, and operator, safety and maintenance training programmes.

No redundancies are expected among the 70 OCS employees, Morris said. Chris White, formerly president of Overhead Crane Service, remains as general manager. David White, formerly vice president of sales for OCS, continues as general sales manager.

According to Chris White: “Morris acquired OCS for several reasons: our rapid and aggressive growth over the past few years and the strength of our service in Ontario.” He continued: “There are a lot of synergies in what our companies do. We are excited about working with the various Morris business units to grow our capabilities and expand our business into all of eastern Canada.”