LiuGong?s acquisition of HSW represents a smart strategic step up for the company, which has a publically stated goal of becoming one of the top ten construction equipment manufacturers by 2015.

LiuGong Machinery Corp has finalised its agreement to acquire the Poland-based HSW (Huta Stalowa Wola) and its distribution subsidiary, Dressta Co. The agreement was signed in Warsaw, Poland.

David Beatenbough, Vice President of Research and Development for LiuGong, has been named Chairman of the Board of the new entity, LiuGong Machinery (Poland) sp z o.o. The transaction is LiuGong?s first outright acquisition outside its domestic market.

HSW is a respected producer of bulldozers and other crawler machines. It is one of only seven manufacturers worldwide producing a complete line of bulldozers, from 74 hp to 520 hp. The Polish government was the primary owner of HSW. It agreed in principle to sell to LiuGong with the signing of a preliminary enterprise acquisition agreement in Beijing, China.
 ?I?m pleased to be a part of this historic occasion bringing two great companies, and two great brands to?gether,? said Zeng Guang?an, Vice Chairman and President, Guangxi LiuGong Co. ?This deal further solidifies the strong ties between our two countries, as Poland and China are long term trading partners and we have more than 60 years of excellent relations. This agreement signals a new era of expansion for both LiuGong and HSW.?

Krzysztof Trofiniak, Chairman, HSW, said the new partnership is the right move for both companies, leveraging Chinese efficiency and European technology. ?Both companies have a long and rich history, a passion for quality and excellence, and a deep desire to create success for employees, dealers and customers. Through this formula, we want to create opportunity for everyone who associates with us,? said Trofiniak.

?Our gaining and retaining the technical knowledge and skills of the HSW employees was important to us in this agreement,? said Beatenbough. ?It is still important for us to remain competitive in our markets, and this agreement lets us do that.?

In the transaction, LiuGong obtains core technologies that will help it advance some of its product designs; supplements LiuGong?s already expansive product lines; provides a manufacturing and logistic footprint in Europe; and expands LiuGong?s penetration into markets and products segments. LiuGong already offers a full line of high quality machines to world markets. The company has among the most expansive array of product lines of any Chinese manufacturer, including wheel loaders, bulldozers, skid steers, forklifts, motor graders, excavators, rollers, drilling machines, truck mounted and crawler cranes, pavers, cold planners, concrete equipment and mining dump trucks.

The company, routinely ranked as the largest wheel loader manufacturer in the world, is also among the world?s fastest growing CE firms. The company sold 75,000 machines in 2011 and has posted an average of 40 per cent annual revenue growth for the past six years running in overseas markets. It is ranked among the world?s top 20 machine manufacturers.