September 2013 30 WorldCargo news CARGO HANDLING Sany Germany GmbH recently held an open day for prospective customers and dealers at its assem- bly plant in Bedburg, near Düsseldorf and it organised a field trip to Duisport to see two “Made in Germany” reach stackers work- ing with Imperial Group. Reach stackers from Sany Germany have also been supplied to PSA Ant- werp,TIV Venice and elsewhere. The 6m wheelbase/18.00-25/ 4531 and 6.5m wheelbase/18.00- 33/4535 reach stackers are the first Sany mobile container handling machines to be homologated for the European market and other reach stacker models will follow in due course. Next in line for homologation is Sany’s line of 16t-46t FLTs, which will be launched in Febru- ary/March 2014, followed in short order by a line of 5-8 high ECH mast trucks with single- or dou- ble-lift attachments. Sany is now the number one reach stacker in its “home” Chi- nese market, with an estimated share of more than 50%.These are tough, durable machines often re- quired to operate 24/7 in the world’s busiest container ports. In Shanghai alone, a 30M TEU/year port, more than 50 Sany reach stackers and mast trucks are in use. Local solutions Having initially tried to expand into wider export markets from China, Sany now recognises, says Bart Decroos, chairman of Sany Germany,“that you need local so- lutions and capabilities. We need to make a profit and will take things step by step, but what we are doing could be a template for Sany elsewhere in the world.” The chassis, booms, steer ax- les, semi-finished cabin (all with a primer coating) are imported from China, along with rims and tyres. Everything is shipped in 40ft con- tainers and on flatracks to Rot- terdam or Antwerp, and then by container barge to Köln, from where they are delivered by truck. Engines, transmissions, drive axles, rotators, spreaders, hydrau- lics, electrics, control systems, wir- ing harnesses, etc are sourced in Europe and fitted by Sany Ger- many. The cabins are described as “high quality,” as Sany reportedly fabricates them with 100% robotic welding.The company is consult- ing the market on preferred en- gine, transmission and drive axle marques, required speeds, accept- able in-cab noise levels (down to 74 dBA) and other performance and operating criteria. The most popular choices today are Scania or Volvo, Dana or ZF, and Kessler or Axletech. All the spreaders are supplied by Elme. European who’s who Nearly all the management team and technical and design staff in Bedburg are European and they include personnel who were for- merly with Terex Italy ( ex - Fantuzzi), such as Paolo Dasi and Giuseppe Pizzoccheri, and Linde- Heavy Trucks Division (Linde- HTD). Linde has now ceased pro- duction of heavy trucks, while Terex is stopping production of reach stackers in Italy. Sany Germany’s strategy is to work through a network of inde- pendent dealers. They already in- clude Mertens Heftruck in Bel- gium and FSH in Germany, which will cover the Austrian and Swiss markets as well. “We are like a mesh,” said FSH’s joint managing director Nicholas Hutloff. “We stand fully behind the customer and Sany Germany stands fully behind us.” FSH has on-line ac- cess to Sany Germany’s SAP-based central parts store and says it pro- vides 24/7 service support. As a point of observation, there were a number of big lift truck dealers from Italy at the open day, but nobody from MGM-OMG, which was appointed exclusive Italian representative for sales and service of Sany port equipment at the end of 2010.As yet there is no explanation for this. Orders coming in In any event, at the time of writ- ing (mid-September), FSH has placed orders for 10 more reach stackers for delivery before the end of 2013. Amongst other projects being bid on by Sany Germany in mid-September is a tender for four reach stackers issued by the Port of Felixstowe. Hutchison Ports is an established user of Sany reach stackers in China. The analogy would be PSA International in Antwerp, which recently took delivery of a Sany Germany 4535 reach stacker. What put Sany Germany in the frame for PSA Belgium were the good results with Sany equipment at PSA Singapore. In 2011, PSA Singapore tested four Sany ECH mast trucks and subsequently con- firmed an order for those ma- chines and six more. Sany Germany is already start- ing to make waves further afield. In Australia, MLA Holdings Pty Ltd, which has been supplying badge-engineered Linde heavy trucks under the “Vulcan” brand, has ordered one reach stacker from Sany Germany and more may fol- low.There could be other chances to move into spaces previously oc- cupied by Linde Heavy Trucks Division (Linde-HTD). Many Linde-HTD dealers were “head to head” with Konecranes Lifttrucks’ dealers and have no assurances about long term supply of “Linde” machines from Sweden. Out of the frame Similarly there could be oppor- tunities with former Fantuzzi cus- tomers. As previously reported in WorldCargo News (July 2013, p30), Terex will in future produce reach stackers only at its French plant in Montceau-les-Mines, leaving Lentigione with just masted lift trucks - ECHs, heavy FLTs, etc. Terex has reasoned that it is not cost-effective to produce reach stackers in two places, but the de- cision has puzzled many observ- ers as the French and Italian de- signs appeal to different market segments. Furthermore, reach stackers generate most of the sales revenue at the Lentigione plant and are more profitable than the masted trucks output. Of course, the “fall-out” from the Linde and Terex decisions pro- vides opportunities for other sup- pliers. But as a “new player” Sany Germany may be able to position itself as a neutral alternative. What’s to be seen At the time of visiting, there were a number of reach stackers on the assembly line and a test area had been set aside in the production hall for a Stage IV machine. The integrated production hall and parts centre occupies 10,000 m 2 and there are 3600 m 2 of offices with technical and R&D, inspec- tion, repair and training facilities. Some finished reach stackers, ECHs and FLTs were shown and demonstrated, but the factory door height will have to be raised before series production of high- stacking ECHs can begin. A 1000 m 2 paint shop is under erection and should be ready for operation by March/April next year. The Bedburg facility functions as Sany’s general HQ, Europe.The site occupies 24.8-ha and is also being used to provide technical support and testing for Sany Group excavators and massive crawler cranes. A big challenge The plant is capable of producing 200 machines/year on a single shift. Clearly Sany Germany faces a major challenge, and it is up against established players with proven products. The company is aiming to achieve sales of €100M/ year by 2015. Sany Group has al- ready invested €40M in the facil- ity and is committed to up to €60M more under phase 2. As previously reported, the in- vestment was originally aimed at manufacture of concrete pumps, but Sany then acquired its biggest competitor in this field, Germa- ny’s Putzmeister, for €360M.This explains why Sany “chose” Ger- many to build reach stackers, when it would have had the same mar- ket access and components avail- ability in a lower cost EU coun- try, such as Poland. Transmontane view Previously FSH (and Mafo before it) worked with CVS Ferrari. FSH is still sourcing machines from CVS, which as a long-standing supplier has a wider range than Sany Germany. Recently, for ex- ample, FSH took delivery of a CVS reach stacker with a tilting spreader for a coffee trader - a proven CVS handling system. A CVS F478 reach stacker has also been supplied to a barge terminal in Hannover. Stefano Mercati, general man- ger of CVS Ferrari Srl, says that, as part of the strategy of Manitex, it has adopted a more flexible ap- proach to the market, so “sudden changes” are less of a shock than they might have been once.There is a non-exclusive relationship with FSH and other opportuni- ties exist, including having differ- ent dealers for the port and in- dustrial sectors. Mercati cites recent orders for Ringing the changes in big trucks market The big trucks sector in Europe is being shaken up by newcomers and rationalisation at the same time Stage IV reach stacker under test in Sany Germany assembly hall Laterally sliding cabin on Sany Germany 30-tonne FLT WorldCargo News brings you worldwide news, features and analysis, updating you on the latest in containerisation, cargo handling, port and terminal operations and intermodal developments. To ensure you get your personal monthly copy plus ezine and online access send us this form and we will start your subscription with the very next issue. Our all-in rate for anywhere in the world is just £295 €455 or US$590. Or why not take advantage of our discounted extended subscriptions? Please see www.worldcargonews.com for details. � YES, please enter my subscription to WorldCargo News . Number of years............. � I enclose my cheque or bank draft for £..............US$...............€............... 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