Chinese multinational launches in style

16th October 2015 By: Dylan Stewart - Creamer Media Reporter

Chinese multinational launches in style

Chinese multinational heavy machinery manufacturing company XCMG held its opening ceremony at BAUMA CONEXPO AFRICA 2015, after having officially launched into the South African market in August 2014.

With a backdrop of XCMG’s heavy equipment on display, management and board members from XCMG’s head office, in China, bowed courteously and addressed an intimate gathering on September 15, the opening day of BAUMA CONEXPO AFRICA 2015, which took place at the Johannesburg Expo Centre in Nasrec, Gauteng.

XCMG board members introduced the company as the fifth- biggest construction machinery manufacturer in the world.

Following the official speeches, four male dancers – donned as construction workers – performed African-style moves on the bonnets of some of XCMG’s equipment, eventually taking to the stage to join five other dancers clad in Broadway-style attire.

XCMG SA GM David Dai enthused that XCMG was becoming more South African.

Dai, who has been in South Africa since 2009, admitted to Engineering News that he was initially nervous about being in a new country but, as he and his team learned about South Africa’s languages and culture, they started to enjoy their work, which had been crucial to XCMG’s persisting in the region.

Some of the equipment that XCMG had on display included its wheel loaders, backhoe loaders, skid-steer loaders, excavators, mobile cranes, truck loader cranes, cherry pickers and roll-backs.

XCMG first sold its equipment in South Africa in 2007 and had sold 1 038 units to the mining, construction and quarrying industries by the end of 2013, said XCMG vice GM Alec Zhang.

He told Engineering News that, owing to the global mining slump, XCMG was focusing on construction and materials handling as areas for expansion.

In addition, the company intends to, in the near future, introduce its road maintenance and building machines to the local market, Zhang explains.

XCMG’s exclusive distributor for Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and South Sudan Niletrac GM Matt Dunne added that XCMG was beginning to make strong inroads into the African market.

He remarked on the significant value for money gained from XCMG products and their particular suitability to infrastructure development.

Thus far, following market surveys, XCMG has sold earthmoving equipment, mining dumper trucks and mobile cranes, and will slowly introduce more items from its range of more than 300 products.

Dai noted that the local market had embraced the range of products, with steady growth in sales and requests for XCMG machinery, encouraging the company to apply the latest technologies and innovation to ensure that the machinery was in line with market needs.

The company hoped to achieve a local market share of 6% by the end of the year and to claim 15% by the end of 2017, said Zhang.

Although XCMG employs about 42 people, Dai predicted that this figure would increase to about 60 by the end of 2016.

Zhang highlighted that XCMG’s quality products and aftermarket service would help capture the local market.

Established in March 1989, XCMG is the largest Chinese construction machinery company.