Linsay Gale’s report in International construction Magazine, March, 2011
Summarised By Steve Yun
Summarised By Steve Yun
Atlas copco, ‘marketing manager’ Mr Ahr said,
Since the end of 2009 they have seen slightly improved market conditions.
Orders have increased and Bauma 2010 gave a degree of valuable impetus to their worldwide customers. They expect business to stay at this level and perhaps even show a slight increase during 2010.
The main driver is cost of ownership.
It is not only the initial investment that needs to be taken into consideration, but also the operating cost.
On the operator’s salary, the maintenance cost, excavator fuel consumption and many other make up to two thirds of the total lifetime cost,
He sees a big impact through environmental issues such as noise and vibration damping and energy efficiency.
They are responding to the target of total cost reduction with an optimized performance-to weight ratio.
That means a defined work can be down with a smaller breaker, a smaller excavator and less fuel consumption.
Montabert, ’maketing director’ Mr Carbonnel said
Demand is currently strong following a recovery over the last year.
This is particularly true in Asia and for large breakers all across the world, a demand that is the result of ongoing infrastructure projects.
Rental companies are also requiring a greater number of breakers than in previous years.
They predict that demand will continue to grow, especially in China.
For customers using breakers on big projects or in quarry applications, the most important driver is breaker productivity, as these impacts directly on the profitability of their business.
For Asian countries or for customers that don’t have an intensive breakers usage, cost and robustness are the major drivers.
They have developed an entry-level range, blue line, which is well adapted for these customers.
Others were much less optimistic. Promove’s Mr Cannao said
The downturn is continuing in 2010 and they are looking at single dealers in Europe constantly decreasing their sales.
Promove’s strategy is to put more and more effort in to selecting and increasing the number of their dealers in order to compensate for this decline. Furthermore, this climate is constantly pushing prices down and competitions are becoming harder as volumes decrease.
From his point of view, the Europe market for earthmoving equipment and demolition attachments will not grow significantly in the next two to three years.
What he sees is a depressed property market (both residential and industrial) and governments facing stark financial realities, with consequent difficulties in financial infrastructure investment. In his opinion, this outlook is not going to change any time soon.
The same conditions appear to apply on the other side of the Atlantic.
In the tough market conditions, price looks to be the main driver for purchasing decisions. Even the leading manufacturers are more and more careful about this and are introducing ‘cheap’ or second lines of breakers which benefit from the reputation of their main brands.
Focus on offering the highest quality at a reasonable price.
Maverick Hammers’ Marketing manager Ms badr said,
She was equally pessimistic.
Global demand for hydraulic breakers has now stabilized, although perhaps only temporarily.
Demand remains strong in region of South America, The Middle East and China.
She is predicting modest market growth rates through 2015.
The existing lower production levels in primary materials, aggregates, along with domestic road building and residential construction point to a growth neutral climate through the end of the year.
Cost is primary factor
When it comes to the main market drivers, there have unquestionably been changed.
Cost is definitely a primary factor. However, they have seen an increased focus on customer support, parts availability and rebuilding services.
Customers are stretching their dollars much further and manufacturers have responded by becoming a source of not only products, but of advice and consultation.
It’s not about selling the customer a product in this moment in time, but rather, it’s about supporting their current products and customers in the market and helping the get through what has been a significant market correction.
In the future there will be improvements in terms of materials and manufacturing that support our focus on performance to weight ratio as well as environmental targets.
Not so fast change in the technology coming in the future.
