Konecranes will close its assembly plant in Windsor, Wisconsin by the end of October.

The company blames low equipment demand in developed markets, closer integration of Morris Material Handling Inc's activities into Konecranes' operations and growing use of corporate-wide products for the reduced production volume at the plant. The factory is a part of Morris Material Handling, which Konecranes acquired in 2004.

About EUR3 million (USD3.6 million) in mainly lease-related restructuring costs will be incurred from the closure.

Remaining activities at the factory including the assembly of components, trolleys and cranes and warehousing parts will be relocated to other Konecranes locations in the US.

Twenty-seven of the 47 employees at Windsor will be offered jobs in other locations, while 20 positions will be lost.

Separately, Konecranes has finalised an agreement to increase its stake in its Japanese joint venture company, MHS Konecranes, to 100%. It acquired the remaining 35% stake from Meidensha Corp last week.

The deal is part of a strategic alliance announced in March. Konecranes and Kito signed a memorandum of understanding, according to which Konecranes will sell the hoist distribution business of MHS Konecranes to Kito. Prior to the final agreement, Konecranes had planned to increase its stake in MHS Konecranes.