Austrian crusher and screen maker Rubble Master became a majority shareholder in Coalisland, County Tyrone-based Maximus in the spring. The acquisition is the first that Rubble Master has made since being founded in 1991.
Rubble Master founder and CEO Gerald Hanisch said the new products, jointly developed with Maximus, will be showcased at next year's giant
Two new products have already come to market since the merger: the Rubble Master HS3500M crawler mobile scalper, and the Maximus 409 vibrating scalper. “There are many more to come,” says Hanisch.
He adds that the acquisition of Maximus is another step for Rubble Master towards expanding its product portfolio and offering customers a complete range of crusher and screening technology from a single source.
“We didn’t have a screen line and we needed one,” says Hanisch. “We decided to invest in Maximus because its products are a good match for our RM crushers and our expansion plans.
“We know that the region has the expertise and specialists that we need to continue our growth and further cement our position as a driver of innovation and world market leader in mobile crushing and recycling.
“Maximus will increase our speed to market on the screening side. We will exchange views with them and this will create great ideas and new solutions. We are not competitors, we will complement each other.”
He adds that the two brands will maintain separate identities following the merger, bringing out products under their own names.
The company’s best-selling models are currently the RM 90GO! 23.6 tonne tracked crusher and the RM 100GO! 29 tonne crusher with crawler gear.
Investment is taking place into the Maximus site at Dungannon. Maximus MD Neil Collins says the funding will guarantee sales and service jobs at the plant and create new jobs in the technical and business sectors including welders, painters, quality management staff and sales administrators.
“We will invest several million pounds here in Dungannon and upgrade the site,” says Collins. “To this end, we’re looking for additional specialists to develop innovations for both brands and launch them on the market.”
The takeover by Rubble Master will boost the Maximus customer support operation, according to Collins. “They are number one in the world for after sales support,” he says. “It will also give us volume because Rubble Master has a huge dealer network around the world."
He adds that a big plus factor in the takeover for Rubble Master is that so much of the screening supply chain is contained within a small radius in Northern Ireland, including belts, pumps and hydraulics.
The biggest customers for Maximus screens are contractors in quarrying and demolition. “They are mobile machines that are easy to move so they can be rented out for a few weeks,” Collins says.
