Construction machinery go green road

In 2012, after years of prosperity, the domestic construction machinery market showed signs of significant recession. In order to deal with the crisis faced by the entire industry, major companies are actively thinking about countermeasures, and the analysis believes that the green strategy may help construction machinery companies to alleviate the current predicament and inject vitality for the long-term development of the company. The green strategy is mainly reflected in three aspects: improving the energy efficiency of products, promoting the recycling of resources, and lowering the emission standards of products. The development in these areas has a direct contribution to improving the market competitiveness of enterprises.

First of all, improving the energy efficiency of a product means reducing the fuel consumption of the product. The level of fuel consumption is one of the key factors that users consider when purchasing construction machinery and equipment. Taking the survey results of the loader market as an example, about 62% of loader users rank the fuel consumption level as a key factor at the time of purchase, which is higher among light load users. Therefore, the research and development of energy-saving technologies and the reduction of fuel consumption of products are obviously helpful for gaining users' favor and increasing market share. Perhaps based on this consideration, Longgong and Lingong have successively introduced energy-saving models such as D-type and L-type loader products this year. When Sany Heavy Industry introduced its new C9 series excavator at the Shanghai BMW Exhibition, it also first introduced its outstanding energy-saving advantages.

Secondly, promoting the recycling of resources and developing the remanufacturing industry will obviously help enterprises obtain price advantages, develop long-term customers, and attract small and medium-sized customers. The remanufacturing industry uses waste products as raw materials for new products. Compared with the direct production of new products, the input of materials and energy will be reduced by more than 60%. This huge cost advantage will inevitably enable companies to take the initiative in price competition. At the same time, the trade-in replacement policy that companies use to obtain used machines will help retain existing customers. In addition, the company’s policy on recycling old machines will also benefit SME customers and attract more SME customers. This is because the business volume of most SME users is not stable. This is especially true in the case of a weak macroeconomic situation. If the old machines can be sold to manufacturers at a stable and reasonable price, this will greatly ease the situation. After a few years, the enterprises purchased the machine and they were left undisturbed, thereby increasing their tendency to purchase machinery and equipment. Global construction machinery giant Caterpillar has benefited from remanufacturing. Recently, Sany Heavy Industry has invested 100 million more in Sichuan to build a remanufacturing base. This also shows its determination to vigorously develop the remanufacturing industry.

Finally, reducing product emissions will help promote the export of construction machinery products. In 2012, the performance of the domestic construction machinery market was dull, but the construction machinery products performed well in terms of exports. According to the statistics of the General Administration of Customs, from January to August this year, the total export value of lifting and engineering machinery products reached US$23.05 billion, an increase of 21.1%. In the unfavorable situation where domestic demand tends to be saturated, going out of the country will become a direction for many companies to seek growth. However, although the export data is gratifying, there is no shortage of hidden concerns. The tendency of trade protectionism in other countries may be the biggest obstacle. The most commonly used method for restricting the import of construction machinery products in other countries is to increase the emission standards. Therefore, research and development of emission reduction technologies and reduction of product emissions are also imperative for domestic construction machinery companies.

In 2012, the domestic construction machinery industry experienced an unprecedented cold winter, but perhaps this cold winter also opened the curtain for the “green” of the construction machinery industry in the future.