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CHINA INTERVIEWS
RUNSHARE
I
n Runshare you see a manufacturer that is
still forging its identity. Established in 2007,
and run by Jun Zu, 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, 3000 m
2
production
facility and production methods and technology
are still a level below those of its main Chinese
competitors.
However, Mr Jun has his sights set on a larger
facility in Yueyang, 30 minutes by high-speed train
north of Changsha, which will be a 78000 m
2
facility
and ready later this year. Located on the banks of
the Yangtze River, the RMB200 million (€25 million)
factory – funded by shareholders and bank loans
- will have good shipping links to Shanghai and
onwards.
Currently with sales of around RMB75 million
(€9 million) and production capacity at the current
factory of around RMB100 million (€12.5 million), he
says the new facility will boost capacity by five to
10 times.
Runshare started business producing telescopic booms for
China’s shipyards, but now has a much wider range of products.
IRN SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2013
construction and will be operable in a few months
time.
Mrs Su 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 that there is still a growth trajectory.
In fact, she says last year’s sales split of 65%
export and 35% domestic will be nearer 55%/45%
this year because of its growth in China. Mrs Su is
expecting company revenues to increase by as much
as 40% this year to around RMB200-250 million (€25-
30 million).
She says rental in China is the
principal driver for growth, helped
by some major manufacturing
projects, including a consumer
electronics factory for Samsung
in Xian and automotive plants
such as a VW factory in Changsha,
Sinoboom’s home city.
Mrs Su says that up to 500 aerial
platforms are already being used
on the Samsung factory and that
could double or treble. 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 for the
company, Mrs Su says Sinoboom’s priorities remain
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 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 6, 8, 10 and 12 m electric scissors,
featuring electric drive motors and longer duty
cycles, as well as a number of self-propelled mini
scissors, including one 4 m working height unit.
SINOBOOM
S
inoboom moved into its new factory in
Changsha in April and although annual
production capacity will eventually be 3000
scissor lifts and 2000 booms, that level of activity
was clearly some way off when
IRN
visited in August.
Still, the facility is enormous – 70000 m
2
of space
is currently being used and the total site amounts
to 200000 m
2
– and will become larger yet when the
second phase of construction starts in around two
year’s time.
Mrs Su Hong Xia, the co-owner
and founder of the company,
and Sinoboom’s ‘public face’
internationally, tells
IRN
that 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
Booms under production at Sinoboom’s
facility. A paint booth is currently
under construction.
Mrs Su Hong Xia, co-owner and
founder of Sinoboom.
