Escorts inks joint venture pact with Japan's Tadano for high capacity mobile cranes

Farm and construction equipment maker Escorts today said it is setting up a joint venture (JV) with Japan's Tadano to manufacture rough terrain and truck mounted cranes in the country.

Tadano, which is Japan's largest mobile crane manufacturer, would hold 51 per cent stake in the JV with Escorts chipping in with the rest 49 per cent stake.

The JV would cater to an expanding market in the 20-80 tonnage category.

"The new joint venture with Tadano Group is a step towards catering to market demand for smarter, safer and bigger mechanised infrastructure solutions in the higher tonnage category," Escorts Ltd Chairman and Managing Director Nikhil Nanda told reporters here.

Production by the JV is expected to commence at Faridabad in the third quarter of this financial year itself, Nanda said.

Tadano President and CEO Koichi Tadano said the JV would initially focus on the domestic market and later could also look at exporting to other markets.

"Escorts has a strong technology legacy and diversified portfolio in construction equipment market and Tadano has a proven global technology and together we will cater to India and other growing economies," he added.

The rough terrain and truck mounted cranes cater to big construction companies servicing oil refineries, metro rail projects, smart city construction, solar power projects and ports among others.

Shares of Escorts were trading flat at Rs 891 on BSE.