Chinese construction equipment manufacturers increasing export focus

Chinese firms are growing their expertise in terms of products and international sales – Mike Woof reports

China’s major off-highway construction equipment manufacturers have grown in a relatively short period and now number amongst the largest players in the sector. Some of the key firms are looking to boost exports and are providing tough competition, particularly in the emergent markets.

Best known for its wheeled loaders, 269 LiuGong has been developing its excavator range, with production of the E series machines underway. The firm is extending this line up and is now offering a 50tonne class excavator with its 950E model, which features a 3.2m3 bucket and is powered by a 298 kW 196 Cummins diesel. The machine is fitted with the firm’s intelligent power control system, which has been designed to ensure optimised performance, increasing working efficiency and reducing fuel consumption. The company is further extending its range upwards in size by introducing the 70tonne class 970E model, its largest excavator so far. The E- series excavators represent a significant technological step for LiuGong and the company is selling these into the Chinese market to get experience, with Tier 2-Tier 4 versions being available worldwide depending on the local market requirements. LiuGong’s excavator facility in Liuzhou is one of the firm’s newer plants and has two assembly lines, one building larger machines from 15-50tonnes and the other building smaller units. Of note is the fact that LiuGong also has a European manufacturing facility, acquired when it bought the Polish 3420 Dressta bulldozer line, which will make the excavators for sale into Europe.
Sany Mining is continuing to expand its SRT range of off-highway dump trucks, as well as boosting its sales of these machines in China and for export. The company completed the first prototypes for the SRT55 rigid hauler in 2007 with the production versions then starting to roll off the production line in 2008. Development of the SRT line-up has continued and the firm is offering machines with payloads of 33, 45 and 95tonnes as well. Sales are growing and Sany is expecting to make 300 of the machines in 2014. At present most of the trucks are supplied to customers in China but much of this sales growth is expected to come from increasing exports. Over the next two to three years, up to 50% of truck sales will be to export markets and the firm is already making progress as it supplies machines to customers in Chile, South Africa, Vietnam and Zimbabwe. 1170 Sany Heavy Machinery saw a 100% increase in sales and profits for 2013 so far compared to 2012 and the company believes that this division will continue to grow its performance as its exports develop further.

The 5316 SDLG product range has developed through several generations but while it has been producing wheeled loaders for the Chinese market for many years, the agreement with 359 Volvo CE has allowed the Chinese company to further advance its line-up. The current wheeled loader range was developed with input from Volvo and these models were introduced in 2011, showing improved performance, durability and reliability over the earlier generation units. According to the company, the machines are quieter, more reliable and will also last significantly longer. Volvo CE has also used its considerable knowledge in the sector to help in the development of SDLG’s new excavator range.
The SDLG wheeled loaders and excavators feature proven technology for the engines, drivelines and hydraulics, with some components such as the cabs that show the Volvo CE influence. Manufacturing of the SDLG loaders and excavators is based on a variant of the 2728 Toyota Production System while quality control and product testing has benefited from Volvo CE input. An array of options is offered and for the Chinese market, SDLG’s customers can specify from a range of engine types available, such as a 2731 Weichai unit as well as a Chinese made 201 Deutz.

Bulldozer specialist 1171 Shantui has a clear policy of broadening its product range, having grown from being a small producer with a limited model line-up to become a major global manufacturer. The company began its diversification process in 1999, buying a road machinery range and then following this up with a line of concrete equipment in 2008.

However at the same time, Shantui continues to develop its bulldozer line, with -5 versions of the SD16, SD32 and SD42 being introduced in due course. While the 671kW SD90-5 was unveiled at 5930 Bauma China in late 2012 and was the first of the -5 models seen in public, this machine is in final development and will not be available on the market for another two years and the 313kW SD42-5 is the first production model of this new series to be unveiled.
The firm recently sold 50,000th bulldozer, and has both US and European certifications for its SD10YE model, while it has supplied and SD16 to a customer in the UK. Shantui produces more bulldozers than any other manufacturer in the world, with an annual production capacity of 15,000 units and a peak output of 11,000 machines in 2011.

2490 XCMG’s massive contract signed with the Venezuelan Government was a major boost to the firm; the supply of no less than 6025 machines in a deal worth some US$750 million. This order came at an important time for the company when the world demand for construction equipment slumped, bringing a very welcome boost to turnover.

The order was for well over 60 different types of machines including mobile truck cranes, tower cranes, pavers, compaction rollers, wheeled loaders, bulldozers, graders, concrete mixers, concrete pumps, piling rigs, dump trucks and both mobile and static crushers. The bulldozers and crushers were amongst the units supplied by other manufacturers although all the units were branded as XCMG machines for the purposes of the deal.
XCMG’s target is for the firm to become the world’s third largest manufacturer of construction machines, although the company hold the fifth place in the global market at present and exports are crucial. XCMG’s main export market is Latin America at present, where the firm says its products have a good reputation, with Brazil, Chile Bolivia and Peru all being important sales areas. Road machines do figure in the company’s export business and XCMG has had particular success with its 12tonne single drum compactor in Brazil and Venezuela.

1175 Zoomlion is a comparatively new entrant to the construction equipment market, having grown both organically and through acquisition and it is now a leader in the concrete pumping sector for example. Perhaps its most notable purchase has been of Italian concrete pump manufacturer CIFA, a deal which went through in 2008. One of the machines of which the Zoomlion group is most proud is its innovative 101m boom concrete pump. This is a record holder as it offers the longest reach of any concrete pump in the world. The key to the machine is that the top four boom sections of the 101m concrete pump are made from carbon fibre, which reduces its weight considerably. The machine runs on a seven axle truck chassis but had conventional high carbon steel been used, a 12 axle chassis would have been required. It is worth noting that while one competing manufacturer builds a concrete pump with a boom reach of 86m, this has steel in its construction and the machine runs on a nine axle chassis. Zoomlion has patents covering the use of carbon fibre in the boom and in fact, the company took out over 100 patents on the 101m machine.