KNUCKLE BOOM LOADER CRANES Ӏ SECTOR REPORT
markets,' the company says. It also provides more application- specific solutions across industries. 'This combination strengthens Tadano’s overall competitiveness and delivers a more complete lifting solution portfolio. PM’s knuckle boom line-up fits naturally alongside Tadano’s established straight-boom presence. 'Leveraging Tadano’s strong
service and sales networks the combined offering allows Tadano to address a wider range of customer needs throughout these growth regions.'
While PM is headquartered in
Italy, and has a strong European footprint, the acquisition’s intent is not merely to increase Tadano’s focus on Europe: it is global. PM is also well-established in Latin America and Tadano is committed to expanding the PM product range into regions where Tadano already has strong market presence, including North America, Australia, Asia, and the Middle East. PM’s Italian factory will
remain a central manufacturing base. Tadano plans to expand production capacity as global demand increases, strengthen cost competitiveness through joint purchasing, and integrate parts commonality with other Tadano facilities – such as in Germany – to create efficiencies and an interconnected production ecosystem across the group. The current intention, therefore,
is for PM’s manufacturing operations to remain in Italy – where the company has strong expertise and long-established production capabilities. Whether this will be the case long-term is unknown: 'While we continuously review our global manufacturing strategy as part of long-term planning there are no further details we can share at this stage.' Whether the PM brand
PM loader cranes
are now part of Tadano
continues under its existing name or is rebranded as Tadano is another unknown: 'Tadano plans to integrate PM under the Tadano brand over time. However, PM has strong regional brand recognition in several markets. Tadano is considering retaining or leveraging the PM name where it creates commercial advantage. The final branding strategy will reflect both global consistency and regional strengths.' Loader cranes are a specialised
sector, and sales and dealership companies require expertise in crane-to-truck mounting, specialised after-sales service, and local engineering and certification processes. How will PM’s loader cranes be positioned within Tadano’s global network? 'Tadano will assess the
readiness of each sales company and dealer, within their existing sales and dealer network, then construct the optimal global network to ensure professional installation, service, and long- term customer support,' its
32 CRANES TODAY
spokesperson says. Tadano expects PM customers see positive changes: 'Product quality, service consistency, parts availability, overall lifecycle support – all of these will be enhanced. PM leadership remains unchanged. Giovanni Tacconi continues to serve as CEO of PM Oil & Steel. PM will contribute advanced knuckle boom machining and structural design capabilities, while Tadano brings cutting-edge control systems, safety technologies, telematics, and global service expertise. “Integrating these capabilities will support the development of more advanced, efficient, and technologically-sophisticated loader cranes,” it says. “We expect to leverage the combined technological strengths described above to develop next-generation lifting solutions.” PM’s most recent most recent knuckle boom crane, introduced before the acquisition, is the PM 130SP – a super-heavy 92.6 tonne-metre machine designed for exceptional reach (36.45m), with nine crane extensions, seven jib extensions, and up to 9.6m stabiliser extension. Reception, it says, has been very favorable. Tadano sees the loader crane
market as stable in Europe and North America and growing in Asia, the Middle East, and South America. It expects to significantly expand sales volume by leveraging Tadano’s global sales network and PM’s strong product range. So the future for knuckle booms appears to be: worldwide – penetrating less saturated markets; flexible – with models, reaches and capacities for a wide range of applications; and highly digital – with advanced software enhancing safety and usability. Ownerships and partnerships might change but the machines themselves will continue to be as useful as ever.
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