Hiab hands a slice of its US loader crane distribution to Manitowoc’s MGX
Hiab has signed a dealer agreement with MGX Equipment Services, the Manitowoc-owned distributor, covering HIAB loader crane sales and service across thirteen US states where the Finnish manufacturer says its coverage had been thin.
Thirteen states, mostly in the interior
The agreement takes in Colorado, Delaware, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Dakota, South Dakota, Virginia, Wyoming and Utah. MGX operates from thirteen locations in eleven states and handles sales, rental, parts, service and training.
It is an unusual pairing on paper. MGX is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Manitowoc Company, whose own lifting brands include Grove, Potain, National Crane and Shuttlelift. Adding truck-mounted loader cranes to that mix gives the dealer a product for jobs that fall below the size where a boom truck or an all-terrain crane makes sense.
Filling in the map
Hiab has been steadily rebuilding its North American distribution since separating from Cargotec, and the states covered here are largely rural and low-density – exactly the territory where a manufacturer struggles to justify its own depots.
“The partnership with MGX is an important milestone in our strategy to grow in the attractive North American market. Their scale and industry expertise significantly enhances our coverage in the US. With MGX, we can offer premium sales and service support for our HIAB loader cranes in many previously insufficiently covered key regions.”
– Pauliina Kunvik, Senior Vice President Sales and Services, North America, Hiab
Direct reach for the dealer
For Manitowoc, the agreement is a way of putting more work through an existing branch network without adding manufacturing.
“This agreement accelerates the growth of MGX & Manitowoc in the U.S. By expanding our direct-to-customer reach, we can deliver more value through faster response times, stronger service capability, and deeper customer engagement. Together with Hiab, we are strengthening our position in key markets and creating new opportunities to scale across a broader range of lifting solutions.”
– Les L. Middleton, Executive Vice President, Americas and EU Mobile Cranes, The Manitowoc Company, and President, MGX Equipment Services
Hiab sells through a network of some 3,000 own and partner sales and service locations worldwide and delivers to more than 100 countries; its continuing operations turned over around EUR 1.6 billion in 2024. The MGX deal was announced two days before a second, larger US dealer agreement with Custom Truck One Source, which covers a further twelve states with an emphasis on the west coast.
Between them the two appointments give Hiab named loader crane representation across most of the contiguous United States, in a market where the company has repeatedly said its share of the truck-mounted crane business lags its position in Europe.
Source: Hiab — Photos: Hiab