The best Intermat yet - but what was in it for the Middle East?
An unseasonably cold and wet week in Paris did not prevent the industry from unleashing its latest wave of machinery and equipment at this year’s Intermat. What was in it for the Middle East?
Ah, Spring time in Paris. A magical time of year where the cafe awnings are unfurled and tree blossom colours the streets; reminding a weary traveller why Paris has been the favourite muse of artists for centuries. Shame then that Intermat was treated to a downpour that would have left a street painter’s canvas a soaking mess.
Lesser industries may have made their main event a wash-out but the construction machinery industry is not one of your lesser industries. In fact Intermat was arguably the most bolshie show in years.
According to the show organisers, it was certainly the best attended event yet, tempting 200,000 visitors through the show doors of Paris’ Parc des Expositions.
The fact that over 70,000 of them were overseas attendees speaks volumes of the show’s growing popularity in the annual calendar and finally consigned its troubled history – the credit crisis in 2009, Bird Flu in 2006 – to where it belongs, in the past. The European manufacturers have had a tempestuous few years in the lead up to the event, particularly in the western and southern parts of the continent. Financial uncertainty at home has left it vulnerable to shifts in global markets. Post-downturn, the world is looking more and more to the east and the traditional powerhouses on the continent are less assured of their position than at any stage since the rise of the Japanese in the 1960s and the South Koreans in the 1980s.
Sany’s acquiring of Putzmeister earlier this year has focused minds on Europe’s loosening grip on its own industries and the growing potency of the Chinese manufacturers.
It may have been disquieting for some to see the massive Sany stand in the outside area dwarf Putzmeister’s own which was tucked away between two halls (you could’ve fitted Putzmeister’s own stand within it several times over), especially with XCMG using the show newspaper to declare that it is close to acquiring a large stake in Schwing-Stetter. Whether it was competition with the largest privately-owned construction company in the world, or a chance to make its own statement of intent in the home of European industry, XCMG chose to go public on its desire to take control of Germany’s other major concrete player at the event leaving no doubt that time since the previous Intermat has not been overly kind to Europe.
However, a new European industry may be forming out of the mist that has descended over the region. It has been forced to rethink its approach towards production and development, and this was evident on many stands and in conversation with exhibitors.
Like Putzmeister, Liebherr is a family-owned company, but has taken great strides to ensure that it is better positioned in 2012 than in 2009. It showed a typically diverse range of equipment and cranes at the event – majoring in large heavy excavators for the mining sector – and clearly it has continued to invest in its lines. Despite being happy to have experienced a plateau and not a dip over the past three years, there was scant evidence of Schaudenfreude regarding the taking of Putzmeister by the Chinese.
“It is fair to say it is big news in Germany but I think there were some circumstances with Putzmeister and Sany,” said Dr Gerold Dobler, corporate communications trade press at Liebherr. “You know (Karl) Schlect wanted to retire and he doesn’t have a successor. We’re owned by the Liebherr family but they want the company to be successful and has a social commitment to the region. We felt the crisis but there was no particular time we were dramatically affected.”
As a consequence of the downturn, Liebherr has begun rotating staff across its product lines, moving team members away from one line on its broad spectrum of equipment to others that are performing more strongly. Liebherr as a group is also heavily diversified, it owns a successful refrigeration business, for instance, and employees were also shifted over to different fields during the downturn, Wolfgang Beringer who handles sales promotion explained.
“We train our people in working groups and can get skilled workers who can start immediately,” he said. “You know at Liebherr we have high staff retention and close relationships with the local community.”
“We were lucky with cranes that during the beginning of the crises, the demand for large cranes was high to fill a lack of energy. People needed power plants, wind turbines, and the jobs in the petrochemicals industry were still good. We lost a number of small, construction-related cranes, but we could keep our turnover and even increase it a little bit by selling a higher proportion of bigger cranes.”
Liebherr has also invested heavily in its machines in preparation for the latest round of emission regulation which has forced or inspired (depending on your point of view), Western manufacturers to overhaul their equipment. CMME has already covered Caterpillar’s announcement that it is launching 60 new products in 2012, and UK-based JCB was particularly buoyant about its own Tier IIIA and Tier IIIB equipment.
Having quickly recovered from a disastrous 2008/2009, the company most famous for its Backhoe loader, recorded pre-tax profits of $570 million in 2011, up by almost 50% on 2010. The company launched 33 machines – its largest ever launch, including wheel loaders – at Intermat, many of them to ensure compliancy of machines, but to also service the emerging markets, including the Middle East.
The company revealed its line-up of Dieselmax-powered Tier 2 excavators at the show, the JS200, JS210, JS220, as well as raising the possibility of that its latest Tier IV Interim machines could also be refitted with Tier2 kits for customers. Although its 24 to 36 tonne machines for Europe and North America still retain their Isuzu Interim engines, which comply with Tier 4 Interim/Stage IIIB regulations.
It also unveiled its complete 17-machine range of skid steers, as well as compact tracked loaders, mini-excavators, two wheeloaders and its largest ever, five-stage boom (a first for JCB), telehandler at an impressive press conference.
Close to the JCB stand were Haulotte and Terex-owned Genie, with both determined to show their progress in the Middle East region in terms of the AWP and telehandlers. Although not on display the Middle East-friendly GTH 4014 and GTH 4018’s sister machines on display demonstrated how the company continues to make progress in the art of keeping it simple; ideal for this market.
The company also demonstrated its progress in the field of anti-crush safety equipment, with three new designs, including the OPS (Operative Protective Structure), a tubular steel system it can fit to 1.8-2.4m platforms. Haulotte’s executives said the Middle East is proving to be one of its most important hunting grounds while revealing its prototype rough-terrain telescopic boom, HT23RTJ.
“This aerial work platform has been designed by our R&D department in close collaboration with a panel of customers to meet the needs of a range of industries working at heights up to 23m,” said the company. “It’s Ideal for many applications including construction work, the shipbuilding industry, chemical and petrochemical industries, and the aviation industry…, this machine has unsurpassed performance.”
Alexandre Saubot, CEO of Haulotte said the company is particularly positive it will see growth in the Middle East market.
“We have a pretty good trend coming from the emerging markets, the Middle East, Latin America and India,” said Saubot.
“We see a very positive trend coming from the Middle East, mainly compared to last year where business was very weak for the first half. We are pretty confident with all the projects there in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar, and many other countries, we should post very good numbers for this region.”
This year’s event was especially marked by a strong global line-up. Typically Caterpillar took a large stand, choosing to lead with infrastructure machinery, even laying down a mock-up of a road between the machines.
The world’s biggest construction machinery manufacturer had 40 of its 60 planned new machines on show, including the 966K CVT (constant velocity transmission) wheel loader, its new F Series backhoes, the 428F and 432F, which feature a new loader linkage with greater lift and dump heights and increased lift capacity that look highly capable for this region.
It also had its tandem vibratory roller line with articulated and drum steer configurations, and its largest paver to date, the AP1055E paver, the B Series vibratory soil compactor line, and a pneumatic roller, the CW34.
“The new paver range is going to be pretty huge,” enthused Francine Shore, Cat spokesperson for EMEA region.
Doosan has figured quite prominently in CMME in recent months as it continues to boost its international presence, and featured its region-appealing DX225LCA excavator and DL250A wheel loader at the event.
The company also unveiled its 25th anniversary limited edition E-16 Bobcat compact excavator (the star of April issue’s cover) at the show. Featuring improved ergonomic travel levers and pedals, the machines also has its own limited livery design inspired by car ranges, including mock rear-lamps and a unique numbered plate signed by EMEA president Scott Nelson.
The team behind it told CMME that: “We collected all the feedback from the customers and put it into the design.”