The past year has been an interesting period for the construction equipment community, not least within the crane sector. As tenders were announced and preliminary work began on some of the Middle East’s largest projects, contractors started bringing in muscle to help with the heavy lifting.
Unsurprisingly, the biggest news came from the biggest manufacturers. Manitowoc, Liebherr, Link-Belt, and Terex have been extremely busy across the region, introducing new models to the market and signing supply deals for upcoming megaprojects. So, without further ado, here’s PMV’s review of a year in cranes.
Head in the clouds
With an array of product launches and healthy sales figures to match, Manitowoc Cranes has enjoyed an impressive year in the Middle East market
As the parent company of Grove mobile cranes, Potain tower cranes, and of course, its eponymous crawler cranes, it was hardly surprising that Manitowoc Cranes proved to be one of the busiest crane manufacturers in the GCC during 2014.
The US-headquartered lifting specialist has introduced several cranes to the Middle East during the last 12 months, with a particular focus on its rough-terrain segment.
“The Grove RT550E is a 45-tonne capacity rough-terrain crane with a class-leading 39m boom and an 8m fixed swing-away jib,” said David Semple, Manitowoc’s vice president of sales in the Middle East and English-speaking parts of Africa.
“This model’s jib is extendable to enable a maximum reach of 47m. Versatile, fast to set up, and easy to use, it’s particularly handy for applications in tight spaces due to its compact design – it’s only 12m long and 2.55m wide. It also weighs just 29 tonnes,” he told PMV.
To complement the RT550E, Manitowoc also introduced its bigger brother – the RT770E – to the Middle East market following its debut at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2014.
“This 65-tonne capacity model offers the longest boom in its class at 42m,” explained Semple.
“Its five-section, full-power main boom features single-cylinder technology, eliminating the need for a hydraulic hose reel and thus lightening the crane. This design also eliminates the need to install boom inserts, which would necessitate an assist crane,” he added.
Another 2014 introduction that proved popular across the Gulf was that of the Potain MCT 205. From the tower crane’s Middle East introduction during the second quarter of the year up until December, Manitowoc succeeded in selling almost 20 of the units across the region, its biggest single customer being Abu Dhabi’s NFT.
This level of performance is indicative of the manufacturer’s resurgent business across the Gulf and wider Levant, according to Semple.
“For a number of years in the Middle East, as the global market slowed, low demand meant that there was no urgency for projects to be completed,” he explained.
“However, over the past 18 months or so, as the market has picked up, we’ve seen a definite trend in the requirement for topless tower cranes at multi-crane sites.
“Topless tower cranes are particularly useful in the Middle East for large construction sites, such as multi-complex projects with shopping malls and luxury hotels. In some cases, there can be as many as 20 cranes on a site due to the sheer size of the projects that are underway and aggressive completion deadlines,” said Semple.
Fortunately for the region’s contractors, the manufacturer has no intention of taking its foot of the gas in 2015. With upcoming launches for the Potain MR 418 tower crane and the Manitowoc MLC650 crawler, there will be plenty of options for those in need of some onsite muscle.
Semple also predicts that the Grove GMK6400, 400-tonne capacity all-terrain crane will find a receptive local audience during the coming 12 months.
“Having been recently introduced to the market, we predict that this model will do well in 2015, especially when one considers the success of the GMK6300L six-axle platform,” he commented.
“The industry trend is for high-quality, good-value cranes, and this is well recognised by end users in the Middle East. The GMK6400 is particularly suited for use across the Middle East’s refinery and petrochemical complexes, as well as its transport infrastructure projects,” Semple concluded.
Kingdom toppers
With consistently strong demand for its mobile crane models in the Saudi Arabian market, Liebherr topped off 2014 by securing a three-unit order from a particularly high-profile tower project
Liebherr enjoyed strong demand within the mobile crane segment during 2014. Whilst German equipment manufacturer has delivered units to a variety of the Middle East’s flagship projects, it enjoyed particularly healthy growth in the Saudi Arabian market.
“Our cranes can currently be found working for the oil sector in the industrial city of Jubail on KSA’s east coast,” explained Wolfgang Beringer, head of sales promotion at Liebherr.
“There are Liebherr units supporting construction at Yanbu’s new industrial area on the west coast of the Kingdom. Moreover, large cranes like our nine-axle LTM 11200-9.1 all-terrain unit and LR 11350 1,350-tonne capacity crawler crane are facilitating extension work at Makkah’s Masjid Al-Haram,” he added.
It seems that the grand-scale projects currently underway in the Middle East are driving demand for mobile units at the larger end of the Liebherr spectrum.
“Our five- and six-axle cranes have been very successful in the Middle East market during the past year,” said Beringer.
“The LTM 100-4.2, LTM 100-5.2, LTM 1130-5.1, LTM 11605.1, and LTM 1250-6.1 have all performed strongly in this region. The larger, eight-axle LTM 1500-8.1 has also proven very popular with local customers, and has built up an excellent reputation,” he told PMV.
Encouragingly for Beringer and his colleagues, it’s not only Liebherr’s mobile cranes that have been garnering attention in Saudi Arabia. In December, the German manufacturer announced that it is to supply four tower cranes to facilitate construction on Jeddah’s Kingdom Tower, which at over 1,000m, will become the world’s tallest building on completion.
In addition to a trio of 280 HC-L 16.28 models that will support general construction, Liebherr will provide the 357 HC-L 18/32 unit that will place the top on the iconic building.
The record-breaking skyscraper may not be due to complete until the end of 2018, but if Liebherr can maintain its current levels of activity in KSA, there’s every chance it will remain the Kingdom topper during the intervening years.
Eclectic lifting
Terex has certainly enjoyed a interesting year in the Middle East, with product launches, multimedia tools, a 200-tonne tandem lift, and even the release of its own comic book
There can be no denying that Terex has had an fun-packed 12 months. The manufacturer’s regional activities have been as diverse as they have numerous.
Terex began the year by designing a comic about its crane range. The aim, according to the company, was to combine the childhood passions of comic books and construction equipment.
Less than a month later, two Terex all-terrain cranes were used to conduct a 200-tonne girder lift in Kuwait. The AC 1000 and AC 500-2 models worked in tandem to place a giant supporting beam at a bridge project near to Kuwait City.
In November, Terex added an all-terrain crane to its Gulf line-up in the form of the Explorer 5500.
The manufacturer ended the year with a the launch of a customer-focused, multimedia tool: Crane Expert. The app collates crane-related resources, including brochures, datasheets, and 3D panoramic views at a single location.
It’s hard to believe that this has all taken place within the space of a year. Here’s hoping that Terex’s activities are going to prove equally entertaining in 2015.
All about chemistry
With a strong showing at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2014, and its recent deal with Saudi Arabia’s Sadara Chemical Company, US firm Link-Belt has plenty of reasons to be cheerful
Link-Belt started 2014 in fine fettle, and finished the year with a flourish.
The manufacturer started out by securing multiple crane orders during CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2014. The Las Vegas trade show, which took place in March, saw deals for Link-Belt’s telescopic crawlers, all-terrain lifters, and rough-terrain units. The recently launched ATC-3275 all-terrain unit proved particularly popular amongst the firm’s customers.
Director of product marketing, Pat Collins, was also happy about the number of repeat customers.
“In the short time we’ve been shipping the ATC-3275, 50% of the sales have been to repeat buyers,” he explained.
Finishing the year in style, Link-Belt announced in December that KSA-baased Expertise Industrial Services had taken delivery of one of its RTC-8050 Series II cranes.
The unit was purchased from the OEM’s authorised Saudi Arabian dealer, Bakheet, and is currently supporting construction at the Sadara Chemical facility – a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Dow Chemical Company.
