Motum makes a Norwegian acquisition

Mitsubishi Electric has once again strengthened its position on the European market. It has taken over the Norwegian lift company Alt Heis via its Swedish subsidiary Motum.

By Bernd Lorenz

Mitsubishi Electric has acquired all of the shares of the Norwegian Alt Heis AS lift company via its Swedish subsidiary Motum. The Japanese company announced this at the end of November 2024.

By taking over the company, established in 1973 in Bergen, Mitsubishi Electric and its subsidiary Mitsubishi Electric Building Solutions (MEBS) aim to expand their maintenance business in Norway and reinforce the basis for their business. At the end of the third quarter, Alt Heis had a workforce of 25, according to a Mitsubishi Electric press release.

Mitsubishi Electric Building Solutions Corporation (MEBS) was established on 1 April 2022. It is a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Electric, which is based in Tokyo (Japan). MEBS took over Mitsubishi Electric’s building systems business. This includes development, production, sale, installation, maintenance and repair of lifts and escalators.

Motum takeover

Photo: © Motum

A few days after the official establishment of MEBS, Mitsubishi Electric announced the complete takeover of the Swedish lift and door supplier Motum AB. The Motum Group was set up in 2013 through the merger of three Swedish lift companies (ITK, Hissgruppen and Uppsala Lyftservice) with the assistance of the Swedish Accent Equity investment company. It now boasts twelve Swedish and Norwegian companies. According to Mitsubishi Electric, it is the biggest independent lift company in Scandinavia.

Motum not only sells and installs new lifts but also has contracts for maintaining over 20,000 lifts as part of a multi-brand maintenance business. By acquiring Motum, Mitsubishi Electric and MEBS are pursuing their goal of reinforcing their competences in the fields of installation, modernisation and service of lifts in Sweden and the rest of Europe.

According to the company, Motum had a workforce of about 400 employees and generated sales of 900 million Swedish crowns (around 78,5 million euros) in 2023.

First acquisition in Norway

Motum acquired the Norwegian company Uniheis AS at the beginning of the second quarter of 2023. It was set up in 1985. Since then, it has operated as a distributor of Mitsubishi Electric in the sale and installation of new lifts as well as in maintenance, for the most part in Norway. Uniheis had eight employees at the time of the takeover.

Further plans

Apart from Motum, Mitsubishi Electric and MEBS have two further bases in Europe with Mitsubishi Elevator Europe B.V in the Netherlands and Ascenseurs Mitsubishi France S.A.S in France. MEBS did not provide any specific information on whether there would be further purchases in 2025.

"Since mergers and takeovers are one of the most important strategies of Mitsubishi Electric’s Building Systems Group and MEBS which fully conduct the business, we are always on the lookout for opportunities to achieve our goals," it responded to LIFTjournal’s query. MEBS did not disclose in which other European countries it would like to take action or which companies might be suitable for a takeover.

More information: mitsubishielectric.com
mebs.com
motum.se
alt-heis.no