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Tasked with managing the operational growth of the rapidly expanding SaaS heavy equipment trading platform, Metcalfe will build on his extensive business, technology and start up experience to execute on Krank’s vision of transforming the inner workings for one of the largest global industries. As COO at Krank, Metcalfe will lead and scale business operations and go-to-market activities to deliver on Krank’s exciting business roadmap and expansion plans.Metcalfe began his career in institutional sales at Legal & General Investment Management. This was followed by strategy, business growth and operations roles at various B2B technology and startup companies, most recently rising to a COO role at the fintech start-up Cobalt. At his time at Cobalt, Metcalfe was pivotal in raising major institutional investment and signing global clients, including Citi and Deutsche Bank. He joins Krank following the company’s transformative deals with US rental giant Maxim Crane and technology company Liebherr, where the unique Krank platform will underpin a large proportion of the companies’ used equipment disposals. Giles Metcalfe, Chief Operating Officer at Krank.“I’m thrilled to be joining Krank at such a formative and fast-moving time for Krank’s unique business model,” Metcalfe said of his appointment. CEO and founder of Krank Mark Turner meanwhile, says: “Giles is a very welcome addition to the team – with his experience in growing technology businesses, I am confident he will make a very strong contribution in driving Krank’s rapid expansion.”From upstart to start upMetcalfe’s career to date has been marked by his entrepreneurial spirit and lateral thinking - having ran and sold a business by the age of 18 and receiving national newspaper coverage during the financial crisis for his innovative approach to securing his first job in London’s financial district. (Metcalfe stood with a banner and handed out CVs in Broadgate Circle, London – resulting in over 25 interviews in the following weeks.) 

The specific product segments such as mining, construction and material handling of technology company Liebherr is set to sell used machines, attachments and spare parts to customers via an all-new digital marketplace. The global trading platform is being developed in partnership with software-as-a-service provider Krank. Replacing an existing digital marketplace, the new solution will centralise the sale of Liebherr used mining, construction and material handling technology worldwide. Due to launch during the first quarter of 2023, the platform underlying the marketplace is being developed in close collaboration with UK software-as-a-service (SaaS) experts Krank.The new marketplace will be a Krank-developed platform that allows Liebherr sales partners worldwide to quickly and conveniently manage their used equipment sales processes – and market them online. It will cover the sale of used mining, earthmoving and material handling machines, mobile and crawler cranes, tower cranes, maritime cranes, concrete technology and corresponding used attachments and spare parts.Krank the ‘stand-out’ construction marketplace developerCommenting on the choice of Krank as its development partner, Daniel Hecker, Business Development Sales at Liebherr-EMtec GmbH said: “We were looking for an expert in creating marketplaces for used construction equipment – and Krank is the stand-out partner. With the relaunch of the marketplace, we will have a central platform for our global used equipment business. Customers will be able to independently search our virtual marketplace for the used equipment they need, while our sales partners will register and manage their used equipment via the platform and its associated apps.”“The marketplace will bring together on a single platform the entire supply and demand sides of our used equipment business,” Hecker continues. “It will have the ability to combine Liebherr’s strengths of personal advice and customer relationships with the much greater visibility a global digital marketplace offers.”Krank helps users keep control of process and dataKrank is a SaaS platform that provides a new way to remarket used equipment. Subscriber-branded (Liebherr in this case), it helps customers sell faster and improve revenues. UK headquartered, Krank enables customers to manage the sale process and keep direct control of their business network and data.Figure 1 Krank Founder Mark Turner (left) with Liebherr's Alexander Sattler, Head of Business Development Sales & ServiceKrank Enterprise leverages the network effect, so customers reach more high-intent buyers, convert faster, reduce conversion costs and improve sales revenues. With full end-to-end control over sales data – plus Krank’s built-in analysis, customer analytics and forecasting – customers can generate actionable insights and influence buyer behaviour.About the Liebherr GroupThe Liebherr Group is a family-run technology company with a highly diversified product portfolio. The company is one of the largest construction equipment manufacturers in the world. It also provides high-quality and user-oriented products and services in a wide range of other areas. The Liebherr Group includes over 140 companies across all continents. In 2020, it employed around 48,000 staff and achieved combined revenues of over 10.3 billion euros. Liebherr was founded in Kirchdorf an der Iller in Southern Germany in 1949. Since then, the employees have been pursuing the goal of achieving continuous technological innovation, and bringing industry-leading solutions to its customers.

The consultancy-for-equity investment expands Krank’s online B2B equipment trading and networking software platform outside its construction base to the wider automobility industry.Enterprise software-as-a-service solution Krank has announced that automobility management consultancy Berylls has taken a stake in the online B2B trading and networking software provider to accelerate its development.Berylls now owns a stake in the U.K.-based technology platform in exchange for significant support in building Krank's business and organization.The ultimate insidersGerman headquartered Berylls is the go-to consultancy in the auto and mobility industry, helping major car and truck brands, as well as distributors, lease companies and automobility investors with strategy, performance, and change. Berylls’ UK managing director Arthur Kipferler helped broker the investment and is now an executive director of Krank. Speaking about the strategic partnership with Krank he said:“The core of the Krank Enterprise concept is to offer customers their own branded marketplace, with Krank’s technology supporting transactions in the background. Krank’s unique technology and business model is truly disruptive in the vehicle trading industry. Not only can it enable remarketing transactions at much lower cost than incumbents, but it also gives sellers more data, and buyers more confidence.“Krank has the ideal combination of clever technology meeting a real market need,” Kipferler continued. “Add in Berylls’ considerable resources and business-building skills and you get a powerful combination. We will also provide support to expand Krank’s organizational structure and commercial offering."The potential to change an industryCommenting on the strategic tie up Mark Turner, founder and CEO of Krank said: “Berylls is the ideal partner for Krank. Not only does it have the resources to quickly expand our team, it is also helping fine tune the commercial aspects of our offering. Having Berylls as a partner gives Krank an exciting long-term horizon, one where together we build a business that will have a positive impact on the industry.”Arthur Kipferler, Berylls’ UK managing director,and Executive Director, Krank