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Viper goes for cranes
Page 22
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• Northern Ireland based Viper (International) has started production of truck-mounted cranes at its new £2.5m factory at Cookstown, with the backing of the Industrial Development Board.
The original Birminghambased Viper company, bought by Northern Ireland entrepreneurs Pat O'Neill and Harry McCourt at the end of 1988, sub-contracted crane manufacture to companies in the West Midlands, which was also its main market, says McCourt. "But we will be selling throughout the British Isles," he adds, "and we have also extended the product range through the recent signing of a technology agreement with MKG Maschinen of Bremen."
The company, which will provide 55 new jobs in Cookstown over the next three years, is now setting up a UK dealer network. "Then we intend to develop our products in the European market in France, Germany, Spain, Austria and Switzerland, concentrating on the smaller end of the market with cranes of up to 2.5 tonnes," says McCourt.
Viper has previously only made cranes up to 2.5 tonnes. McCourt points out that 80% of the truck-crane market is for models handling up to 10.5 tonnes. Following the deal with MKG, Viper will be able to sell cranes up to this weight limit worldwide under the Viper name. The company will also sell MKG-made cranes up to 64 tonnes in the British Isles.
Viper is planning to build 400 units this year and McCourt is confident that truck mounted cranes "is a big growth market. New EC regulations after 1992 will restrict how much a workman can lift," he says, "and companies are also realising that having a crane on a truck speeds up deliveries and so cuts transport costs."