The doors open on a record-breaking bauma China 2018

More than 3,300 exhibitors are launching and showcasing their latest latest construction, road building and quarrying equipment this week at bauma China 2018.

Exhibitor numbers are up 11% on the 2,958 exhibitors from 41 countries that presented their products and innovations to around 170,000 visitors at the 2016 event.

This year’s bauma China, taking place at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC) 27-30 November, has welcomed back US equipment manufacturing giant 178 Caterpillar after a six-year absence from the show. A comprehensive range of construction, road building and quarrying sector models are also being showcased by other major global OEMs including 7659 Volvo Construction Equipment, 364 Wirtgen Group, 718 Liebherr, 325 Sandvik and 2991 Powerscreen. They will be joined by many ambitious small- and medium-sized manufacturers at the keenly-awaited four-day showpiece. Some small- to medium-sized firms from a wide variety of countries - including Germany, Italy, Korea, Spain, Turkey and the US— will exhibit on joint national stands. As usual, all 300,000m² of SNIEC exhibition space — including 17 halls and the outdoor area—will be occupied.

It is not hard to see why there will be a record number of exhibitors at this year’s bauma China. The event is being staged during a period of healthy Chinese construction and quarrying equipment demand. Sales of construction equipment in China will exceed 325,000 units this year, according to the Mid-Year Review from 2444 Off-Highway Research’s Chinese Service. The forecasted 30% year-on-year rise in 2018 will follow on from a staggering 81% increase in demand seen in 2017.

The Mid-Year Review from Off-Highway Research, a leading global construction equipment industry market research consultancy, notes that excavators and wheeled loaders are the main equipment sales drivers, and sales growth has been “particularly brisk in the first half of the year”. The review adds: “Wheeled loaders have traditionally been the highest volume machines in China, but last year crawler excavators out-sold them for the first time. That gap is expected to widen further this year, with nearly 140,000 crawler excavator sales against 83,000 wheeled loaders. This year is also seeing strong growth for crawler dozer, mini excavator and mobile crane sales in China.”

The highly encouraging commercial environment for domestic and global market original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) is partly being fuelled by a variety of new infrastructure megaprojects. The hugely ambitious US$4 trillion-plus ‘One Belt, One Road’ Initiative is focusing on greatly enhancing connectivity and cooperation between China and its Eurasian neighbours via the land-based Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB) and the ocean-going Maritime Silk Road (MSR).

Other eye-catching Chinese infrastructure megaprojects include the US$20 billion Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HZMB) – a new 55km road, bridge and tunnel link spanning the Pearl River Delta’s Lingdingyang channel via three cable-stayed bridges and one undersea tunnel. HZMB, which is due to open to traffic before the end of the year, will connect three popular destinations in the Pearl River Delta, providing a convenient and cheap option for business travellers and tourists. It will be the world’s longest sea-crossing bridge.

Plans are also being drawn up for a new undersea tunnel in south-east China to improve transport links between the cities of Shenzhen and Guangzhou. The tunnel itself will be around 1.1km long but the project will also include building a 4.45km stretch of road in the DaChan Bay area and a 2.5km stretch of road in Qianhai. The project is expected to cost US$1.67 billion, with the tunnel’s earmarked three-year construction phase due to begin before the end of 2018. Once the tunnel link is ready for use, it will improve traffic connections between the ports of Shekou, Chiwan and Mawan. Much of the traffic using the route is expected to comprise goods vehicles and the link will help reduce congestion on existing roads in the area.

The need to replenish ageing machine fleets has been another big Chinese equipment demand driver. Although plans for China’s off-road industry to move to China [Nonroad] Stage IV engine emissions are still to be announced, industry watchers believe they will be introduced at the end of next year. The need to comply with tougher engine emissions regulations is expected to act as a major driver of new machine purchases.

Efficient asset utilisation via state-of-the-art telematics solutions is another big growth area in the Chinese and wider Asian construction, road-building and quarrying equipment markets. Whether for residential and commercial construction projects, transport infrastructure works, or quarry-based mineral products processing, improved fleet performance monitoring can lead to welcome big increases to operations’ bottom lines.  

The continuing rise globally and domestically of major Chinese OEMs including 269 LiuGong, 1170 SANY, 1175 Zoomlion, 2490 XCMG and the part Volvo Construction Equipment-owned 5316 SDLG, is a hot topic at leading global industry exhibitions. It was the focus of a special Chinese construction machinery industry promotion event on the first day of INTERMAT 2018 Paris. The event on 23 April was sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce and Chinese Embassy in France and organised by China Chamber of Commerce for Import & Export of Machinery & Electronic Products (8758 CCCME) and China Construction Machinery Association (CCMA).  

Event attendees, including senior executives from top Chinese OEMs, heard Wang Guiqing, vice president of CCCME, explain how demand for machines in China has increased as market conditions have improved, while the impact of the Belt and Road (B&R) strategy for developing infrastructure is a massive benefit for export sales. “Chinese manufacturers are ready to supply machines built to a high quality and that are technologically advanced,” said Guiqing.

During the same event, Qi Jun, president of Chinese Construction Machinery Association (CCMA), said that the Chinese construction equipment sector had benefited from a prolonged period of steady investment. “Over the last ten years we have had particularly fast development.” Jun added that a focus on research and development has been crucial, with overseas sales now accounting for over 25% of turnover for Chinese firms, with the Belt and Road programme being of major significance.

Meanwhile, Gao Yuanyuan, minister counsellor at the Chinese Embassy in France, said: “It is very clear that the global market has recovered from the global slowdown.” She added that some markets show particular growth and said: “Europe will provide good opportunities for Chinese companies.”

Yang Dongsheng, general manager for XCMG, explained: “We have been spurred by the rebound in the European market.” He said that the firm’s sales in China are now very healthy indeed as the home market has recovered well, and this has boosted the firm’s global profile: “We’re now the sixth company in the world for construction equipment.”

David Cipolla, CEO of Zoomlion CIFA, explained that in the 10 years since Italian concrete pumping specialist CIFA was bought by Zoomlion, it has been able to expand production, as well as invest in technology. This has allowed the firm to introduce the only lightweight concrete pump booms on the market made from lightweight carbon fibre for example, as well as sophisticated hybrid technology for its concrete mixers.

Howard Dale, chairman of LiuGong Europe, said: “With the acquisition of 3420 Dressta in 2012, we became one of the first Chinese companies to invest in Europe.” LiuGong has continued to invest in its Polish plant, boosting production as well as developing a new research and technology centre.”

It has been a strong year for demand in the Chinese construction, road building and quarrying equipment markets, and it is tipped to remain strong in 2019. Such market optimism will make the latest edition of bauma China one hell of a show!