Mills acquires south Brazil MEWP business

Mills has continued its expansion with the acquisition of the aerial platform division of rental company Altoplat, based in the city of Porto Alegre, in southern Brazil.

Founded in 2010, Altoplat is formed by two rental organisations, Altoplat Locações de Plataformas Aéreas and Equipamentos e Locação Juceli, which combined is the largest rental outfit in Porto Alegre.

Mills has bought the company’s MEWP segment for R$72.5 million (US$12.9 million), and says the deal will reinforce its position as Brazil’s largest rental company and diversify its customer base across the steel industry, construction, petrochemical and education.

With a fleet of 417 units, Altoplat’s MEWP business achieved revenues of R$28.7 million (US$5.9 million) in its financial year up to October 2021, representing a 54% rise on the previous financial year.

Mills, which has been growing its presence in Brazil through a range of recent acquisitions, including Solaris in 2019, and Nest Locação e Revenda de Máquinas (Nest Rental) and SK Rental Locação de Equipamentos in 2021, said this latest deal would bring it even closer to current customers, as well as growing its customer base in the country.

This latest deal grows Mills’ fleet by around 5%. “The transaction, as well as the other two acquisitions completed in the year, proves the company’s ability to allocate capital and absorb operations, and seeking inorganic growth and maximising return to shareholder,” said the company.