Konecranes

The story of Konecranes begins not as a standalone company, but as a division within the Finnish industrial giant, KONE Corporation, which was founded in 1910 as an electrical motor repair shop. By the 1930s, KONE had expanded into manufacturing electric cranes, initially serving local industries like pulp and paper. This crane business grew steadily, establishing a dedicated service strategy in the 1960s and expanding internationally. A pivotal moment arrived in 1994. KONE Corporation decided to focus solely on its elevator business and divest its other operations. This led to the crane division being spun off into an independent company, initially named KCI Konecranes, on April 15, 1994. The new entity was not born from a typical startup founder, but through a sale to institutional investors and the division's senior management, led by its first CEO, Stig Gustavson. This strategic spin-off allowed Konecranes to concentrate entirely on the lifting business. Just two years later, in 1996, the company went public with a listing on the Helsinki Stock Exchange. This event provided the capital and platform for a new chapter of focused growth. The journey continued with strategic acquisitions, including the material handling division of Terex in 2017, significantly expanding its global footprint and product portfolio. Today, Konecranes stands as a world-leading group in material handling solutions.