The trunk crane camera business BlokCorp was bought by the US-American manufacturer of hook and hoists The Crosby Group.
The six-year-old company, which was founded as a sideline for a family crane rental company, specializes in camera and alarm systems.
It will now be a founding division of a Technology Solutions division of the venture capitalist backed company, which has an “increased focus on creating disruptive and integrated lifting technologies.”
Peter Hird, headed by former colleague Ben Windass, sold his stake in the 37-year-old city business in 2013 to take advantage of the opportunity.
BlokCorp manufactures systems that can be installed on the boom or hook block of mobile, crawler and tower cranes to improve accuracy and safety when lifting and lowering.
“We had an idea, we’d worked in the lifting industry all our lives and realized that there was a significant niche in the market. We found that the products in the area were pretty poorly made,” he said. “It started!”
Aware that it is a young company to be involved in such a deal with a company with more than 130 years of experience – he revealed it could have happened 12 months earlier – that pandemic hit last March was addressed.
This year, the previous performance improved despite the coronavirus, which led to the completion of the undisclosed acquisition.
Peter Hird, left, and Ben Windass.
(Image: BlokCorp)
“We were surprised when approached because it was a massive unit – we had only started as a sideline,” said Hird.
He is now the Business Development Director, with Mr. Windass as the product director in the new regime, and the 12-person team manufactures at the Sidings Court site.
There is a stated intention to triple the business in the coming years as it is already being used on large construction projects like Hinkley Point.
They said, “This is an exciting new chapter for BlokCorp, our people and our customers. Both the Crosby Group and BlokCorp share a passion for safety, reliability and innovation. With the global presence of the Crosby Group, we can expand our reach and together improve the safe operation of our customers. “
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On the subject of matching items
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On the subject of matching items
To be branded as Crosby BlokCam, the Priory Park East business joins the recently acquired Straightpoint, a Hampshire-based manufacturer of hoists and hardware, and Verton, an Australian innovator in remote control load sensing systems.
The addition of BlokCorp is the group’s fifth acquisition since 2019, adding German berth operator Fuebo and Swedish rigging specialist Gunnebo.
Crosby Group’s Chief Executive Officer Robert Desel said, “We are excited to expand our technology offering with BlokCorp, a pioneer in providing solutions for safer lifting. BlokCorp will offer our customers and sales partners enormous added value and serve as a strong foundation for our new Technology Solutions division. “
