Sandvik's Thomas Schulz explains the company's growth plans and strategy behind the recent acquisitions of Fintec and Extec

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"A niche player" is how Sandvik construction president Thomas Schulz describes the company and said recent acquisitions reinforce this claim. Claire Symes reports Sweden's Sandvik has a long history of strategic acquisitions - there were no less than eight in the first half of 2007 across the group and many others during its 145-year history. Yet the company's buyout of two UK-based mobile crushing and screening companies took the sector by surprise when it was announced at this year's Bauma exhibition in Germany.
Under the deal, Sandvik Mining and Construction bought the 51% of shares it did not already own in Fintec for SEK560million (€60.8million) and acquired Extec from private equity company 3i for SEK1800million (€195million). Even more surprising was the speed at which the financial arrangements were made with completion announced just five weeks after the initial disclosure.
Sandvik construction president Thomas Schulz said that the industry should not have been surprised by the move as the two companies fit well within Sandvik with minimal overlap. "Sandvik's crushing and screening competence in the mobile sector lies in the 50 to 60tonne weight class machines," he said. "Acquisition of Fintec and Extec adds experience in the medium to small mobile machines and offers us access to a different customer base through contractors and the growing recycling industry. In essence, the acquisitions enable us to be a full provider of equipment to the market."
According to Schulz, Sandvik considers itself to be a niche player in the construction sector with equipment lines developed specifically for the quarrying, civil engineering, tunnelling and demolition and recycling sectors. "We are one of the top two companies in Europe for supplying drilling and construction tools," he said. "To maintain that position we need to identify trends in the industry and adapt and grow our business to meet these changes.

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