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Our history
During the 1920s, concerned over the unnecessary loss of North Sea coal ships, engineer brothers Robert and Joseph MacGregor developed the first steel hatch cover. Deceptively simple, the design consisted of five articulated leaves that stowed neatly at the end of each hatch. Patented in 1929, this ground-breaking concept improved ship and cargo safety and changed the face of cargo care for ever.
Milestones
1937
To promote and sell these steel hatch covers, Robert and Joseph formed MacGregor & Company in Whitley Bay on the north-east coast of England. This was the actual beginning of the MacGregor story.
1983
MacGregor’s marine cargo business started when MacGregor merged with the Finnish company, Navire, forming MacGregor-Navire, which was owned by KONE Corporation.
1992
In 1992, the company acquired the world’s leading container lashing manufacturer, Conver-OSR and its product portfolio.
1993
Incentive acquired MacGregor-Navire from KONE and merged it with Hägglunds Marine, the Swedish crane specialist. In 1998, the majority of MacGregor was sold to Industri Kapital.
2005
To strengthen its cargo handling business, Cargotec bought MacGregor and MacGregor’s lashing design expertise was further strengthened with the acquisition of the Swedish company, Allset Marine Lashing.
2007
MacGregor expanded into new segments through the acquisition of companies such as the Norwegian Hydramarine, which focused on offshore and subsea load handling systems, and the Singapore-based, Plimsoll Corporation Pte Ltd, which specialised in the provision of deck machinery to offshore oil and gas operators in the Asia-Pacific region.
2013
MacGregor made two strategic acquisitions in 2013. In October, it acquired Hatlapa to strengthen its position in the merchant shipping segment with a product portfolio that contained a wide range of deck machinery. Included in the Hatlapa acquisition was Triplex equipment, that also became part of MacGregor’s portfolio.
The second strategic acquisition was the purchase of the mooring and loading systems unit from Aker Solutions. It widened MacGregor’s offshore offering to include Pusnes mooring equipment and loading and offloading systems, Pusnes deck machinery and Porsgrunn steering gear for the global offshore and shipping markets.
Hatlapa celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2019. However, our history of innovation goes even further back to the 19th century, when Pusnes and Porsgrunn were founded in Norway. In 1911 Roald Amundsen approached Pusnes to equip his Polar expedition ship, Fram, with an anchor winch that could operate reliably in harsh weather conditions
2016
Cargotec acquired software company Interschalt and its service business was integrated into MacGregor in 2017.
2017
MacGregor signed an agreement to acquire Rapp Marine Group to strengthen its offering for the fishery and research vessel segment. The Rapp Marine acquisition was completed in early 2018.
2018
Cargotec announced an agreement to acquire the marine and offshore businesses of TTS Group ASA. MacGregor completed the acquisition in July 2019. The combination of two highly complementary businesses strengthened MacGregor's portfolio and market position in key markets for cargo and load handling equipment.
2021
CMME, a Joint Venture company CSSC MacGregor Maritime Equipment Co., Ltd. was established by MacGregor and CSSC Nanjing Luzhou Machine Co., Ltd (LMC) in China, for certain hydraulic merchant cargo cranes, merchant winches and steering gear. Additionally MacGregor has JV's for air compressors (LMM) and heavy lift cranes (TSG).
2024
Cargotec announced the signing of an agreement to sell the MacGregor to funds managed by Triton. This transaction was closed on 31 July 2025.
2025
As of August 2025, MacGregor has operated as a standalone company under Triton’s ownership. The company is headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden.