MacGregor's opening ceremony

MacGregor has held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of its new Singapore head office. The company announced plans in September to establish its headquarters in Singapore, ending more than three years of operations with a virtual head office.

The opening ceremony was attended by guests including Paula Parviainen, Finnish ambassador in Singapore, Margriet Vonno, Dutch ambassador in Singapore, Tan Kong Hwee, member of the Economic Development Board of Singapore (EDB), and customers.

"Cargotec aims to be a leader in intelligent cargo handling, serving logistics industries with its three business areas," says Mika Vehviläinen, CEO of MacGregor parent company Cargotec. "The maritime industry landscape has changed and we have seen consolidations, increasing benefits of digitalisation and strong changes in the market environment.

"For MacGregor, this is an exciting and important opportunity. The future growth of ... shipping and consumer logistics is happening more and more in Asia. Therefore, it is very important to be close to the leading market and we are proud to have the home for MacGregor head office in Singapore. There are many good reasons for the decision, but the main driver is innovation and being close to the source and capabilities Singapore can offer in that respect."

"Although MacGregor roots go back to 1751 in Norway with the Pusnes brand, this year marks the 80th anniversary for the MacGregor brand," said MacGregor president Michel van Roozendaal. "This serves to remind us how far we have come as a company. We have moved forward from our Nordic roots to Asia, close to our many Asian customers and new innovation opportunities.

"We continue to serve our customers globally with our extensive presence in more than 30 countries. Singapore is a good location being in the crossroads of Europe and Asia and offers us a stable home in our journey forward."