so there is still quite a bit of
penetration for those types of
products.”
As Mr Nerenhausen explains,
Brazil like other emerging nations has
its challenges, like volatile socio-economic
conditions and tariff laws. “But that’s the
situation you play in when you move into
emerging markets - you are in for the long
haul.”
Production in Brazil, however, is still some
way off. “From a manufacturing standpoint,
that’s not going to be the case anytime soon.
Ourselves and competitors have largely done
that analysis and right now that’s not on the
cards.
“If we are looking at other emerging
markets, our position will be more towards
establishing service for our customers and
that sort of support network versus additional
manufacturing capacity.”
JLG does of course already have an
established manufacturing plant in Tianjin,
China, which serves the Asian market. “We
continue to invest in it and continue looking
at localising more models as the market
evolves. We look to support our customers
through branches and service organisations.
“We currently have mainline products that
we produce in the country and the RS lines
that we produce there. Right now the appetite
is really for mainstream products. “
There are a number of potential reasons for
this, he says, “It might be companies doing
business in that country prefer to use mainline
equipment that they are used to, and gives
some initial visibility.There is any number
of different things that can happen when a
company is just emerging and starting to get
traction that gives them a sense of what they
are looking for - we are in the very nascent
stages of adoption in China.”
Additionally, “The China plant is not
necessarily for all domestic markets, products
produced there are exportable around the
globe.”
Areas like the Middle East are also included
in a dozen or so other emerging markets, and
‘micro-markets’, that JLG is concentrating on
now and that will offer solid growth in the
future.
Looking up
Moving on to the developed markets,
specifically Europe, JLG’s most recent
financial results show orders from that
continent came in a little earlier than
expected, which has prompted hopes that the
economy in general there is looking up.
“If you look at the macro economic data,
they are predicting growth, so I think we feel
collectively that the bottom has been reached
and there are growth opportunities, albeit
distributed within the region. You’ve got
INTERVIEW: FRANK NERENHAUSEN
JLG launched a raft of new products at ConExpo.
Its president Frank Nerenhausen speaks to
Euan Youdale
about them and the world markets.
MARCH-APRIL 2014
access
INTERNATIONAL
33
T
here were more new products
on JLG’s booth at ConExpo
than on any other access
manufacturer’s stand, and there was no doubt
the company was eager to make its mark in
a rejuvenating North American market, and
beyond.
Among them was the newly expanded
Rental Spec (RS) range, now to include
telehandlers, with the 3614RS and 4017RS
telehandlers.They are designed specifically
for the Europe/Africa/Middle East (EAME)
rental markets and emerging markets in Latin
America and Asia. As Frank Nerenhausen,
whose official title is executive vice president
of parent company Oshkosh Corp. and
president of its access equipment segment
JLG, explains, the RS lines provide a choice
between simpler, lower cost equipment and
the company’s premium products across all
markets.
“It’s a value type product, we have pulled
60 to 70 parts so they are simpler machines,”
says Mr Nerenhausen, “The feedback we are
getting is tremendous.
“In the case of the RS scissors, a simpler
machine that has more up time is a feature
that the entire globe responds to positively.
We are just differentiating our full premium
lines from our value lines. We like to give our
customers that option.
“In some key emerging markets they are
looking for a full-featured machine in many
cases and for the RS line”
Continued growth
On the subject of those emerging markets,
South America and Brazil, in particular, is
one of the most talked about, “Obviously its
growth has been extraordinary and you’d think
there is plenty of runway for growth there yet,
but as in any emerging market there are still
challenges - the concept is still evolving.
“If you look at a typical US job site that has
200 machines and you look at similar jobsite
in Brazil it may have 20-25 machines on it,
The JLG 3614RS telehandler was launched
at ConExpo.
Looking
ahead
Frank
Nerenhausen,
president
of JLG.
