The boss of Zoomlion, one of China’s biggest machinery manufacturers, has warned that the demand for construction machinery in China has slowed dramatically and sales will continue to be sluggish throughout 2012.
CEO Zhan Chunxin said the company will look to expand its international presence to compensate for the drop off in demand and increasing competition.
“Demand for construction machinery has shrunk drastically and growth will no doubt continue to slow next year,” Chunxin said. “International expansion is vital for us to achieve sustainable growth. The market in China is still attractive, but it’s just too crowded.”
Chunxin complained earlier this year that there were too many excavators in China, and he added that the country’s second largest construction equipment maker may now turn its attention to foreign markets to expand.
The company has entered into a partnership with an Indian company and plans to start build a concrete machinery plant early next year. Zhan said that work on its 1 million square metre plant in Brazil, which will produce concrete, earth moving and piling equipment, will begin in the H1, 2012, he said.
Zoomlion also recently won an order for 30 truck mounted concrete pumps in Japan and will look to build a factory to service that market shortly.
