Felbermayr targets German access market

Left to right: Tim Werner Schönherr of SGL and Stephan Kulawik of Felbermayr. (Photo: Felbermayr)

Austria-based transport and lifting group Felbermayr has expanded its footprint in Germany with the acquisition of rental company SGL.

Located south of Hanover in the village of Giesen, SGL is a specialist in aerial platform rental. It operates two sites, employs eight staffmembers and has an equipment fleet that comprises over 100 units and includes scissors, mast platforms, articulated and telescopic platforms and truck platforms. 

Felbermayr, which operates several business areas across 19 European countries with an equipment fleet of over 3,000 units, said the addition of the SGL to its business was part of a growth strategy that aims to see it gain a market share in the region through acquisitions.

Felbermayr’s Director for Access Rental, Stephan Kulawik, who joined the company just last specifically to lead its German market expansion, said, “This gives us the ideal springboard for providing our range of services in the Hanover metropolitan region, as well as in the traditional industrial locations in the Harz region.”

“We will continue to pursue SGL’s highly successful strategic approach with the support of the Felbermayr Group,” said Kulawik, adding that SGL’s reliability and wide-ranging service portfolio will continue to earn it a reputation among rental customers.

As part of the acquisition deal SGL will retain its name and independent operation, with it’s founder, Tim Werner Schönherr, retaining a branch manager position.

“I am delighted to be working with Felbermayr”, said Schönherr. “We will continue to trade as SGL. But now that we are part of the Felbermayr Group, we will be able to cater to customer requirements in an even more effective and flexible manner.”

While SGL will remain a member of the PartnerLIFT rental organisation, it will adopt the IPAF standards, to which Felbermayr adheres, for the German market.