PAT Group, a manufacturer of operator assistance devices, is planning to double in size by the end of 2003, according to chief executive Laurie Burns.
Growth is to be achieved mostly by acquisitions, with the service retrofit market being a particular target. “There are sufficient funds available for us to double the size of the company without natural growth,” Burns revealed.
The PAT Group, which also includes Krüger and Ascorel as well as PAT itself, is one of four divisions of Aditron, which in turn is part of the massive German Rheinmetal corporation.
PAT Group is active in two key markets: construction machinery and traffic management. It tends to be popularly labelled as just an LMI company. “But we are wider than that,” said Burns.
On possible acquisitions, Burns said he was looking to grow in the retrofit market. It was a market without too many players, he said.
The acquisition trail began last year when PAT Group bought Compucrane, a US crane selection and lift planning software company.
Burns joined PAT in 1999 to develop the traffic management side of the business and moved up to be chief executive last year.
