Together We Rise…
09.Sep.2019

On 23rd February 2019 it was announced that Tadano had agreed to pay Terex US $215m (¥23.6bn) for its Demag Mobile Cranes business, including production and engineering in Germany and sales subsidiaries worldwide. By 1st August the deal was signed, sealed and delivered – and could now be celebrated. 

Mr. Koichi Tadano

For Tadano, there was no better way to start the company’s centenary celebrations. For Demag, it marked the end of uncertainty and the start of a new chapter. “We were all waiting for this day with great anticipation,” says Thomas Schramm, VP Sales Tadano Demag Mobile Cranes.

Conclusion of the deal was naturally accompanied by two days of ceremony, fanfare and excitement. For Koichi Tadano, the Demag acquisition is integral to his vision of leading the lifting industry globally. He was in Zweibrücken with his senior team to welcome Demag team members to the Tadano family. 

The first day began with a large management meeting in the prototype building at Demag’s Dinglerstraẞe site – where so many famous Demag innovations began. More than 100 Demag managers and the Tadano delegation met to get to know each other and begin strategizing for the future. 

“Our meeting was marked by a pleasant and friendly atmosphere and great mutual respect. It was Meet the new boss evident how excited our Japanese colleagues were to finally meet us, and that goes both ways,” Mr Schramm says. 

Mr. Koichi Tadano welcomes Demag team members to the Tadano family

Later in the day Mr. Tadano addressed the full Tadano Demag team of nearly 1,400. He introduced himself, his company and the goals that the Tadano Group will now pursue together with Tadano Demag, specifically to lead the lifting industry. 

Mr. Tadano explained that the Tadano Group continually strives for progress and growth. While the company must make a profit to be a leader, Tadano does not seek profit for the sake of profit. To bear the volatility of global economics, the Tadano approach is ‘slow and steady wins the race’, like in the fable of the tortoise and the hare, he said. “In the Tadano Group, we do not think like the hare, but like the tortoise to achieve our long-term objectives,” Mr. Tadano explained. 

Mr. Jens Ennen and Mr.Thomas Schramm help plant a Japanese Sakura cherry tree to signify a new beginning.

The day’s excitement spread across Zweibrücken; the Mayor, Dr. Marold Wosnitza, raised the Japanese flag in front of the City Hall. Accompanied by Tadashi Suzuki, Executive VP of Tadano Ltd, and a delegation of Tadano Demag managers, Mr. Tadano met with Dr. Wosnitza for nearly two hours of in-depth discussions. The highlight of the visit to the City Hall was Mr. Tadano’s entry in the Golden Book of the City of Zweibrücken, an honor given to few.

The day culminated with a celebratory barbecue, where new Tadano Demag T-shirts were worn by nearly all. 

Day two started with the symbolic planting of a Japanese cherry tree at the entrance of the Wallerscheid site. The Japanese cherry blossom Sakura signifies an awakening and new beginning.

Senior representatives of the Tadano delegation then met with the Zweibrücken Works Council and management staff of Tadano Demag on the Works Council premises in Dinglerstraẞe. At the same time, the remaining Tadano delegates toured the Dinglerstraẞe and Wallerscheid sites.