Safety and Lifting Group acquires rival

STOCKPORT-based Safety and Lifting Group (SAL) has acquired a crane distributor for around £250,000.

New-Tonne Lifting Services, which has 15 staff, will continue to operate from its Newton-le-Willows base where it services clients including Airbus and Weir Minerals.

Plant hire specialist SAL was established by Carl Oldham and Mark Smith in 2009 who have grown revenues from £90,000 to £2m. It now employs 22 staff.

Mr Oldham, the commercial director, said: “We started out by solely servicing the construction industry through the provision of safety and lifting equipment and building a great client base there however our decision to acquire Trafford Lifting Services Ltd two years ago helped us break other markets.

“Our client mix now hail from the construction, engineering and manufacturing sectors and I’m thrilled we’ve added to this with the acquisition of another fantastic and well established business in that sector; it is a step in the right direction for our group.”

New-Tonne was set up in 1991 and was owned by Christopher Morton.