18/01/2020

SKYLOTEC to Expand with Acquisition of ActSafe

With the Swedish company ActSafe, SKYLOTEC acquires the worldwide market leader for motor-driven power ascenders. SKYLOTEC’s integration of ActSafe into its company group will allow it to expand its product program in this area and create additional development and production capacities. The ActSafe solutions for ascending and descending persons and loads provide multifaceted application possibilities: wind farms, confined spaces, building facade cleaning as well as rescue and tactical situations, among others.

The acquisition of ActSafe is opening new possibilities for SKYLOTEC, one of the leading world brands for fall protection. Founded in 1997, the Swedish company ActSafe became a market leader for power ascenders for motor-driven rope ascension within 20 years. SKYLOTEC is expanding its development and manufacturing capacities - and gaining additional expertise which will benefit its customers. The manufacturing site located in Göteborg will be the fifth SKYLOTEC production site and will expand to become a future center of competence for electronic products within the company.

“The former ActSafe owner Magnus Glans (left) and SKYLOTEC Managing Director Dr. Kai Rinklake want to further expand the ActSafe brand potential.”

The two companies have been cooperating in terms of operation already for quite some time. As a leading global brand in the area of descenders and rescue devices, SKYLOTEC started selling the battery-operated personal power ascender “ACX” from ActSafe in 2018. When used in combination with fall protection systems fixed to facades, for example, it was able to create a simple and efficient system for building maintenance. This increased the Swedish company’s market recognition further. The acquisition of ActSafe and the complete integration of both companies will open up even more areas of application which result from combining the ActSafe power ascenders and various SKYLOTEC products.

ACX application wind turbine

“For example, the battery-operated power ascender for persons, ‘ACX’, can be used for maintenance work on wind turbine rotor blades.”

“We purposely focused on the topic of power ascender technology with other important new developments at the A+A last year. The feedback we received at the trade fair, especially about our new descender Sirius, reinforced our decision to continue expanding in this area,” said Dr. Kai Rinklake, Managing Director of SKYLOTEC. “The synergies among devices for manual rope access work and the ActSafe power ascenders are many, particularly in the area of rope access applications. It would be a smarter path for us to bring both worlds together and, depending on the task to be executed, provide our customers with a selection.” The ActSafe products will be marketed through SKYLOTEC’s international distribution network and the already existing ActSafe sales partnerships will be continued.

“This will allow us to completely meet our customer needs. Which means that we are not only suppliers of the product, but also a reliable partner with a varied training offer,” said Jörgen Hellman, Managing Director of SKYLOTEC Nordic, and future Managing Director of ActSafe. Magnus Glans, the Managing Director and owner of ActSafe up until now, will continue with the company as COO for further product development as well as handle the daily operations of ActSafe. He will also become a member of the management team for SKYLOTEC Nordic. “The past months have shown that the ActSafe brand has more international potential than realized up until now, and will have stronger growth when paired with the distribution power of SKYLOTEC. I am looking forward to jointly expanding the potential of our products”, said Glans. The world-wide trusted brand, ActSafe, will continue to be used as the brand name for the product group.

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