Cascade Corporation has bought troubled German attachments manufacturer Falkenroth Fördertechnik Gmbh & Co for EUR3.8 million (USD4.6 million).

The acquisition comes after months of negotiations between the two companies, which started when Cascade announced in September that it was in talks with Falkenroth about a possible acquisition (Forkliftaction.com News #173).

Early this month, the companies entered official negotiations (Forkliftaction.com News #178), and Cascade announced the deal was finalised on October 14.

Cascade management would not discuss details of Falkenroth, post-acquisition, but analysts contacted by Forkliftaction.com News said the purchase signified the elimination of a competitor, and was "Cascade's style".

One analyst, who requested anonymity, said the company, which is very dominant in its home US market, was accelerating its growth in Europe through acquisitions in a bid to increase market share there.

"It's quite mysterious, really", the analyst said, "The company recently bought another fork manufacturer, FEMA, so I don't really know why they bothered".

"Falkenroth was a long-established family company with a good reputation, but they were old-fashioned; their products weren't technically superior to anything else on the market."

"Considering they already have FEMA, and with their recent investments in forklift manufacturing in China, it's difficult to understand the strategy."

The analyst said the Falkenroth brand would probably not disappear, as Cascade had benefited from the leverage of established brands.

"Cascade bought Roncari, and maintained the brand, with great success (Forkliftaction.com News #131)," he said.

"If you order a Roncari attachment today, you call the Roncari number, the product arrives with Roncari branding, and you receive a Roncari invoice - and it works."