18
ACCESS, LIFT & HANDLERS
NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2013
SINOBOOM
Sinoboom moved into its new factory in Changsha in April and
although annual production capacity will eventually be 3,000
scissor lifts and 2,000 booms that level of activity was clearly some
way off when
ALH
visited in August.
Still, the facility is enormous – 750,000-square-feet of space
is currently being used and the total site amounts to 2.1 million
square feet – and will become larger yet when the second phase of
construction starts in around two years’ time.
Xu Hong Xia, the co-owner and founder of the company, and
Sinoboom’s ‘public face’ internationally, tells
ALH
the new facility,
apart from increasing production volumes, has allowed it to take on more work internally, with work
previously outsourced – such as fabrication of scissor arms and booms – now being done in-house. A
paint booth is currently under construction and will be operable in a few months’ time.
Xu says the slowdown in China’s economy has had an impact on the market, but nothing like that in
the general construction equipment sector, where sales levels have fallen dramatically this year. She
points out that aerial platform sales are still modest in China and there is still a growth trajectory.
In fact, she says last year’s sales split of 65 percent export and 35 percent domestic will be nearer
55 percent/45 percent because of its growth in China. Xu is expecting company revenues to increase
by as much as 40 percent this year to around RMB200-250 million ($33-41 million).
She says growth in rental in China is the principal driver for growth, with some major manufacturing
facilities, including a consumer electronics factory for Samsung in Xian and automotive plants such
as a VW factory in Changsha, Sinoboom’s home city.
Xu says that up to 500 aerial platforms are already being used on the Samsung factory and that
could double or triple. She expects around 200 units to be needed for the VW plant in Changsha later
this year or early next year, and says she personally has met VW project managers to discuss the use
of access equipment on the project.
With exports still incredibly important, Sinoboom’s priorities remain in Latin America, Eastern
Europe, the Middle East and South East Asia. It has recently appointed new dealers including one in
Turkey, Uygunlar in Istanbul, and now also has ‘GOST’ certification for selling in Russia.
The main markets in western Europe and North America are also interesting the company and it will
attend the APEX show in Amsterdam next summer and is thinking about attending ConExpo-Con/Agg
in Las Vegas next March.
In terms of products, the company is
launching new versions of its 18-, 24-, 30- and
36-foot electric scissors, featuring electric
drive motors and longer duty cycles, as well
as a number of self-propelled mini scissors,
including one 12-foot working height unit.
■
RUNSHARE
In Runshare you see a manufacturer that is still
forging its identity. Established in 2007, and
run by Zu Jun, a former crane designer with
Zoomlion, the company is another of China’s
suppliers based in Changsha, Hunan province,
home to Sany, Zoomlion, Sunward, Sinoboom
and others.
The company has a modest, 32,000-square-
foot production facility and production methods
and technology are still a level below those of
its main Chinese competitors.
However, Zu has his sights set on a larger
facility in Yueyang, 30 minutes by hi-speed
train north of Changsha, which will be an
840,000-square-foot facility and ready later
this year. Located on the banks of the Yangtze
River, the RMB200 million ($31 million) factory
– funded by shareholders and bank loans - will
have good shipping links to Shanghai and
onwards.
Currently with sales of around RMB75 million
($12 million) and production capacity at the
current factory of around RMB100 million ($16
million), he says the new facility will boost
capacity by five to 10 times.
Runshare began life as a self-propelled boom
specialist, making straight telescopic units for
the shipyards of China, a market segment that
has since seen a significant fall.
Since then, it has broadened its customer
base to include rental companies in China.
It has also added scissor lifts and is now
making articulated booms for the first time.
The range includes 18- to 36-foot electric
scissors, 40- to 48-foot diesel scissors, 48- to
135-foot telescopic booms, and 36- to 72-foot
articulated models. The massive 135-foot
telescopic boom was added to the range last
year. Although a very wide product range,
few of the models are produced in substantial
volumes.
Sinoboom’s large new
production facility near
Changsha.
Xu Hong Xia, co-owner
and founder
of Sinoboom.
INTERVIEWS
Booms under production at Sinoboom’s
new facility. A paint booth is currently
under construction.
