Fittings manufacturer Ronstan have bought Frederik Andersen Maskinfabrik, the Danish manufacturer best known for their signature Andersen Winches.

All Andersen Winches employees will continue in their current roles and Thomas Meyer, general manager of Ronstan Denmark, will take over the management of the company, which has developed winches for 50 years and its current range includes manuel, electric and hydraulic models.

Ancestor of the company’s founder, Annette Andersen Lau, said: ‘After three generations of family ownership this is a real change of pace and Ronstan is taking over a company and a team of employees that is ready for any challenge.

‘Andersen Winches is clearly a great strategic fit with Ronstan and I’m sure it will be a winning combination.’

Ronstan HQ is in Melbourne, Australia and it employes 180 people worldwide in Sydney, Brisbane, and Fremantle in Australia and Rhode Island, California and Florida in the USA, as well as Southampton and Vejle, Denmark, where it has manufactured boat hardware since its 2001 acquistion of Frederiksen Boat Fittings.

Alistair Murray, Ronstan’s managing director, said: ‘Andersen Winches are the perfect complement to Ronstan deck hardware.

‘The company’s experience in winch design and manufacture are a natural extension to Ronstan’s expertise in hardware and we look forward to the broader possibilities that we can offer to our customers with the combined product range.

‘Ronstan is owned by its management and we continue to invest in our future at a time when others are standing still or sliding backward.

‘As the economy and the industry pull out of the recent downturn, we are aiming to emerge stronger than ever.’

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