LiuGong cranes on the move

In preparation for huge growth, Chinese crane and construction equipment manufacturer, LiuGong, opened a new crane factory and relocated its operations on 19 December 2009.

The 330,000 square metre site is in the Bengbu Economic and Development district of Anhui Province. It has a 53,600 square metre factory and 3,600 square metres for offices. Activities include steel fabrication, cylinder production, assembly and painting of wheeled mobile and crawler cranes.

Crane sales for LiuGong to the end of 2009 were 1,300 units, a year-on-year increase of 75%. Similarly, sales turnover for the same period showed an increase of 72%, to RMB 500 million (US$73 million). Sales for 2010 are forecast at 2,000 units or RMB 1 billion ($146 million).

The manufacturer forecasts that its crane production capacity will reach 10,000 units a year in 2015 and that sales turnover will be RMB 10 billion ($1.46 billion). Based on those numbers, market share in China would be 20%, according to the manufacturer.

Recent launches for this new-to-cranes manufacturer include 25, 50 and 70 tonne capacity truck cranes and a 160 tonne capacity crawler crane. Expansion plans include the addition of models from 8 to 130 tonnes capacity in the truck crane range, all terrains from 100 to 500 tonnes capacity and crawler cranes in capacities from 50 to 400 tonnes, LiuGong said.