Sany Heavy Industry Gives Dazzling Performance in 2011 Vegas CONEXPO

"This Sany crawler crane looks elegant and is designed perfectly. I have never seen a crane like this that is both stylish and so powerful", commented an American customer who was stunned by the majestic nature of the Sany SCC8300 crawler crane in 2011 Las Vegas CONEXPO. The SCC8300 is one of the models in the Sany 8-series crawler crane product line. The series is especially designed by Sany for the US and Europe markets.

In fact, the 8-series’ astonishing performance in Vegas demonstrates Sany’s determination and its strategy for the international market: Which is to integrate global resources and make localized and customized products to satisfy the need of every customer in every market.

In May, 2011, Sany’s facility in Peachtree City, Georgia, will officially start its operation. That is why during the 2011 Las Vegas CONEXPO, Sany sees itself not only as a Chinese manufacturer, but also as an American construction equipment company.

Being an American Manufacturer

In February 28th, 2011, GAO Yanping, the consul general in Houston and ZHOU Qiang, the party secretary of Hunan province visited Peachtree City, Georgia. During the visit they attended the opening ceremony of Sany America’s new facility. According to plan, the research center and the assembly plant will start operating in May, 2011.

It is not the first time Sany has invested overseas. In September 12th, 2007, Sany invested $60 million in India and built two manufacturing plants. On September 12th, 2007 Sany signed an investment deal with the State of Georgia. According to this agreement, Sany will invest in its 228 acres of facility space, over $60 million to create and establish a state-of-the-art assembly facility which will engineer and build Sany products to be competitive both in price and quality. Its target market covers America, Canada, and Mexico. It is estimated that Sany America will reach a capability of $500,000,000 within the next five years.

Sany America officially started construction in 18th June, 2010. So far the first stage of the project has been completed. The first phase consists of a 360,000 square foot manufacturing facility as well as 3 stories of office area totaling 180,000 square feet. As Sany’s first facility in North America, Sany America will be focusing on the research & development, assembly, marketing and sales, as well as the aftermarket support for truck mounted concrete pumps, stackers, handlers, motor graders, drilling rigs, excavators, hydraulic crawler cranes, rough terrain cranes and truck cranes.

Sany America now has 108 employees and over 70% of them are from America. It enjoys an experienced and professional R&D team. The team has 60 experts. Most of them are from well known international institutes. Some are prominent figures in the industry, including crawler crane engineer John Lanning, Greg Trainer, and excavator engineer Noriko. In the past two years, Sany America put over $12.5 million into the research and development of news products and the localization of some of its well known products, including the SRC840/860/860XL rough terrain crane, SMG series motor graders, excavators and mining equipment, as well as the truck mounted concrete pump product line and the rough terrain crane product line. Currently, most of the products for North America market have been successfully developed and some have started production.

During the interview, Mr. XIANG Wenbo, the president of Sany Heavy Industry, told this reporter that Sany started the construction of its Peachtree City factory in 2010. In the 2011 Las Vegas CONEXPO, Sany presents itself not only as a Chinese company, but also as a newly founded American construction equipment manufacturer. Mr. XIANG added; “In Sany, we always identify ‘quality changes the world’ as our business philosophy and this philosophy will not be changed in the America market. With our localized assembly and management team we are ready to provide American customers with state of art equipments and first class localized services.

Localization Helps Sany’s Globalization

When asked about the experience of Sany in overseas market, president Mr. XIANG Wenbo kept mentioning “localize”. “The first step of entering global market is localization. Localization is the foundation of Sany’s globalization. It means that we build the products that match the standards of local market, hire local staff, and apply localized management systems.”

"Now many Fortune Global 500 companies have come to China and set up factories. But we do not see too many foreigners in these companies. Mostly, they hire Chinese employees. That is localization, and it is important for Multinational Corporation” said Mr. XIANG Wenbo. “Companies in the construction equipment industry should pay extra attention to localization, because every region and every area has its own standards for construction equipment. A grader in America could be used for farm work, while it might be used as a bulldozer in India.”

It is said that SCC8300 crawler crane presented at Vegas Conexpo is one of the symbols of Sany's localization in America market.

The SCC8300 is elaborately designed by Sany America to meet the US and European standards. The 8-series crawler cranes are Sany's first crane series that target at the America and Europe high-end market. During the research period, all the functions and capability of SCC8300 were carefully examined by a team made up by customers. Any design that conflicts with the international market requirements would not be taken. The leading figure of the SCC8300 R&D team is an American engineer named John Lanning. Before his joining in Sany, he was served as the vice president of Manitowoc Institute and has 40 years experience in researching and developing construction machinery. John’s experience helped the team gain a deeper and comprehensive understanding of international crawler crane market. All these factors added together make the SCC8300 into a work of art in the crawler crane world.

All the specifications of SCC8300 are in accordance with international transportation standards. The main transport weight is below 45ton. Its height is 3.2meters while width 3meters. It has great mobility and is easy to install and remove. The boom can be install and removed by a standard tow truck, making the transportation easier for the clients. The SCC8300 also has great manoeuvrability. The boom can perform swing, luff, and amplitude synchronously. The SCC8300 has passed China national test and has been certified by ALL TEST (North America) and CE (Europe). It can surely satisfy the needs of a wide range of international crane rental companies, construction companies and hoisting service companies.

The Path of Localization

"Sany’s entering the international market is a difficult battle that we have to fight. We regard it as starting a new business for the third time in the history of Sany” said Mr. XIANG Wenbo. The first two times were the founding of Sany and the Sany being listed in Shanghai stock market. It is expected that Sany Group's 2012 annual revenue will reach 100,000 million RMB. Over 40% of it will be from exporting products.

Sany’s globalization has gone through three phases: First, 2002 through 2005, starting export products. Second, 2006 through 2009, investing overseas. Third, 2009 through the current time, the localization period. At the beginning of the first phase, Sany exported 4 PQ190 motor graders to India and Morocco. By the end of 2005, Sany’s sales network covers 115 different countries and areas. The annual export value reached $523 million. During the second phase, Sany invested in India, US, Germany to build its own overseas R&D centers and manufacturing plants. The starting of the third phase was marked by the opening of Sany India’s manufacturing plant. Since then, Sany has started its path of localization. It means investing in local market, designing products that match local standards, making products in local industry plant and establishing local sales service network.

In order to successfully enter the international market, Sany has made many key preparations: First, they have set up a brand image, in order to promote Sany as a symbol of high quality products. Sany has set up many strict rules and standards for its self. In terms of products quality, all the products and parts must be perfect and without any defects to pass Sany’s quality standards. In terms of service, Sany’s customer service and sales staff provides fast and high quality services to the customer, causing the customer to feel well cared for by a neighbour in their business. Over 100 Sany products have been granted certifications by different countries, including German CE, American DOT, GCC in Middle East, GOST in Russia. Secondly, Sany has established global sales network. Now Sany owns 30 overseas subsidiaries and hires more than 1,300 sales and service staff working overseas, providing support for international clients. What’s more, there are over 300 foreign employees working for Sany and they now have become a more and more important force in Sany's globalization. Meanwhile, Sany has established 15 logistics centers, forming a mature logistics system to provide spared parts service for customers. Thirdly, Sany has set up an international R&D network. Sany will build R&D center in US, Germany, Japan and some of China's large cities. Through a specially designed network, research engineers in different cities will share their resources and ideas with each other and apply the latest technology into Sany’s new products.

Mr. XIANG Wenbo told this reporter that there are many paths that could lead to globalization. Sany Heavy Industry chose localization as its path to enter global market. This method minimizes the risk of conflicts with local governments, and creates win-win situations.
 

A bird view of Sany booth
 

Excavators in front of Sany booth
 

Sany’s leading engineer Lanning giving introduction to clients
 

Sany Group president Tang Xiuguo chatting with customers
 

Sany Group president Tang Xiuguo visiting the booth
 

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