Aprolis takes delivery of its 100th Maeda mini crane in France

Hundredth unit handed over in Oise

The hundredth machine was delivered to Aprolis’s main headquarters at Ville-Saint-Paul in the Oise department during the first week of September 2025. A handover ceremony brought together management from Aprolis, Maeda and AB Kranlyft, the Swedish company that distributes Maeda mini cranes across much of Europe.

Aprolis is best known in France as a material handling equipment rental specialist. Building a mini crane fleet of that size represents a deliberate move away from the standard rental catalogue and into equipment that requires more operator knowledge, more application support and a different sales conversation with the customer.

Rental positioning

That positioning was the theme of remarks by Ludovic Langlois, who heads Aprolis Location. Maeda published a paraphrased version of his comments alongside the announcement:

“The acquisition of our 100th MAEDA mini crane symbolizes Aprolis Location’s commitment to the high-tech specialty equipment sector. We are leveraging this growing market as a key strength to differentiate ourselves from traditional rental companies.”

— Ludovic Langlois, head of Aprolis Location (paraphrased by Maeda)

Why the machines sell

Maeda attributes the uptake to the combination of a small chassis footprint and lifting performance that would otherwise require a far larger machine. Spider cranes travel through standard doorways and lift shafts, set up on outriggers inside finished buildings, and work on floors and surfaces that will not carry a truck-mounted crane. Typical French applications mirror those elsewhere in Europe: glazing and curtain wall installation, plant room and lift equipment replacement, heritage and museum work, and industrial maintenance in confined spaces.

For a rental company, that specialisation cuts both ways. Utilisation rates on mini cranes tend to be steadier than on general handling equipment because there are fewer competing machines in the market, but the fleet only earns if the depot can supply trained operators or train the customer’s own. Reaching 100 units suggests Aprolis has built the supporting structure to go with the iron.

Maeda described the milestone as a marker of the brand’s growing presence in the French market. The manufacturer, part of the Infroneer group, builds its MC-series spider cranes, MK-series knuckle boom cranes and CC-series mini crawler cranes in Nagano, Japan.