The difficult heavy crane market is continuing, but recent acquisitions to diversify its product line is helping The Manitowoc Co., Manitowoc, Wis., weather the storm, according to a financial report by the firm.

The market for cranes used to erect industrial plants and nonresidential buildings is still weak, with some suppliers, such as rental firm Maxim Crane Works, teetering on the verge of bankruptcy (ENR 4/7 p. 9). Nonetheless, Manitowoc says that its 2002 revenue was 34% higher than in 2001 and revenue from its crane division increased 70% to $233 million.

The outlook for the remainder of 2003 is softer than usual, but "we now have the geographic and product diversity to offset declines that we are seeing in the crawler crane market," says Glen Tellock, president and general manager of Manitowoc Crane Group. He claims the company would be far less successful today had it not acquired telescopic-boom crane makers Grove Worldwide and National Crane in early 2002 and tower crane maker Potain in mid-2001 in an effort to extend the firm's "diversified business model." Those purchases reportedly cost $575 million.