Mobile cranes are currently prolific — a tool often as common on job sites as the telehandler or the skid-steer — and frequently the most valuable piece of equipment sold at local auctions.
Both the September and December Ritchie Bros’ events in Dubai were crowned by 2009 Tadano mobile cranes — which also shows the resilience of the resale value.
And until recently, as you drove on Al Khail Road in Dubai and passed by the ‘Mohammed Bin Rashid City – District One’ development by Meydan Sobha, the mobile cranes were so numerous that they looked like a procession of giraffes; while on other sites, the significant size of the rental population is equally evident.
Ultimately, the diversity of the segment’s lift applications places it in a stable position, with sales expected to continue.
Christian Kassner, senior manager for the Middle East at Terex Cranes, notes: “We can see a rise in the demand for larger capacity cranes. Mobile cranes are very versatile, and in the Middle East are being used in a variety of applications — though predominantly for the oil and gas sector and large scale infrastructure projects, including road-building projects, and, for example, the Riyadh Metro Project.
“Customers are sensitive towards the level of the oil price and subsequently 2016 budgets are built on the income out of the oil and gas sector,” he cautions, but confirms: “The current demand for mobile cranes in GCC and Middle East markets is in line with our expectations.”
Elias Saliba, Near East district manager for Link-Belt, concurs: “Demand for 2016 is predicted to be flat for mobile cranes in GCC and Middle East markets. Despite a decrease in oil profits, mobile cranes are still being purchased by large rental houses and general contractors for ongoing projects at oil refineries, general construction, and infrastructure projects.”
Part of the reason for this optimism is the persisting buoyancy in the market since as far back as 2010. David Semple, VP for sales in the Middle East and Anglophonic Africa at Manitowoc, notes how mobile cranes have experienced “considerable growth” in the region since the global economic crisis.
He notes: “The market size has roughly tripled in size since 2010 for the main crane manufacturers in this region. From 2010 until the end of 2013 we witnessed roughly 40% growth, before the fall of oil prices in 2014 saw the market decline to single digit growth. Although uncertainty about 2016 remains, our dealers continue to receive enquiries.”
Semple agrees that sales in some segments are falling, with many end-users predicting a significant slow-down, but confirms: “As funds for ambitious construction projects dry up, the demand for oil and gas continues to grow — with the cranes required for safety.
“This is providing a steady pipeline of crane enquiries from a number of crane rental companies who need to renew their fleets if they want to continue serving companies like Aramco, Sabic, KNPC, QP, ADNOC and PDO.”
What disruptive trends technologies might we expect to see in the near future market? Terex thinks it has a contender in its five-axle Explorer Series: the 5500, 130t class with 60m boom; 5600, 160t class with 68m boom; and 5800, 220t class with 70m boom.
Kassner notes: “Our new control system, IC-1 Plus which allows customers to do more with less, while our customers in the Middle East will appreciate the commonality of the main components, single–engine concept and ease of maintenance.”
He explains that with the IC-1 Plus many load cases including asymmetric outrigger setup require less counterweight compared to 360° lifting capacities, and new load charts are calculated in real time in the cab, allowing the cranes to perform jobs more typically reserved for higher capacity cranes.
Moreover, the IC-1 Plus control system features an enhanced visualization to provide the crane operator with additional information on capacity in relation to boom position. This coloured visualization of the work area capacity results in safe operation.
Kassner comments: “We observed a shift towards heavier components — leading to the requirement of larger capacity cranes whether crawler, fixed or mobile cranes. In the Middle East, customers prefer to lift using the main boom only to subsequently save any additional rigging time for the jib.”
For Saliba, at Link-Belt: “The biggest shift will take time, but it is the number of telescopic crawler cranes being added to rental fleets. These numbers will continue to rise as crane rental houses begin using more telescopic crawler cranes rather than rough-terrain cranes to supplement their fleets.”
Additionally, he notes, site applications involving luffing jibs are increasingly common, especially with rough-terrain cranes.
Link-Belt is competing by offering longer booms with its newest products — each featuring six-section power, pin and latch booms — including the 127t TCC-1400 telescopic crawler crane, 100t HTC-86110 hydraulic truck crane, and 90t 100RT rough-terrain crane.
The TCC-1400 will boast the longest boom length for a telecrawler in its tonnage class, reaching to 59.5m with an on-board three-piece bi-fold lattice fly to boost the maximum tip height to 78.9m. The HTC-86110 similarly challenges the best European-built in its class, with a maximum tip height is 52.6m, while the 100RT has a 50m boom with maximum tip height of 79.8m.
The boom designs for each of these cranes also incorporates Link-Belt’s standard Teflon wear pucks impregnated into the wear pad surfaces so that the boom requires no grease.
From Manitowoc’s perspective, Semple notes: “There is a long-term trend to increase the lifting loads. This is driven by construction techniques which will reduce the completion time of the project — but the actual split between crawler, tower, and mobile cranes remains unchanged. In this part of the world the onus is on having the ‘longest boom’ for the smaller capacity cranes. However, when the crane class exceeds 250t, the use of luffing jibs becomes more frequent and necessary.”
Kassner comments: “Johnson Arabia in Dubai recently ordered a Terex AC 350/6 — enabling the customer to rig a full luffing jib all–terrain crane faster, more safely and in a simply smarter way than ever before.”
According to Semple, the region’s rental houses are experienced in knowing the type of crane required for an operation and the best distribution and aftersales support.
“However, at times we face challenges with some government-controlled entities, for example, be when we try to explain to some markets that their needs and requirements are better suited to a rough-terrain crane rather than an all-terrain crane,” he adds.
“A second challenge that manufacturers and distribution partners face is having competent staff who are capable of carrying out the work on the cranes and also have the necessary linguistic skills needed to become efficient aftersales technicians.”
But in short, the sentiment in the mobile crane segment for 2016 is about as close to ‘no complaints here’ as you could expect.
