Manitowoc Cranes (Manitowoc) and Shantui Investment Co., Ltd., (Shantui) plan to form a new joint venture to build mobile cranes in China for both the domestic and export markets. The name of the joint venture will be Shantui Manitowoc Crane Company Ltd., and it will begin operations once all relevant government approvals are received.
Within China, the cranes produced by the joint venture will be sold through Shantui’s vast domestic dealer network, in addition to Manitowoc’s own dealer network for truck cranes. The joint venture and this distribution network will also be the exclusive dealer for imported Grove all-terrain and rough-terrain cranes into China. In addition, this distribution network will provide full Manitowoc Crane Care parts and service support for the products it sells.
Manitowoc and Shantui will use their existing distribution networks for sales of cranes from the joint venture to the export market.
Eric Etchart, President and General Manager of Manitowoc Cranes, says both companies would boost their businesses with the new arrangement.
“Shantui is one of China’s leading manufacturers of earthmoving equipment and the company is looking to develop its presence in the country’s mobile crane market. Similarly Manitowoc has been developing its own presence in the Chinese truck crane market and we are now ready to move to the next stage of development with a stronger and larger partner,” he says. “This new arrangement will not only create a new leading manufacturer of mobile cranes in China, but it will also boost sales of Grove AT and RT cranes in the country through Shantui’s excellent dealer network.”
To begin, the joint venture will produce four truck cranes, the GT8, GT10, GT20 and GT25, with capacities of 8 t, 10 t, 20 t and 25 t respectively. Other crane models will follow in due course. In the domestic market, plus export markets managed by Shantui, it is planned that the cranes will be branded Shantui Grove. For export markets managed by Manitowoc, it is planned that the cranes will be branded Grove Shantui. The cranes will be manufactured at Manitowoc’s current joint venture facility in Tai’an.
Etchart says the venture with Shantui will help structure Manitowoc better for the future.
“Shantui is already very well-known in the Chinese market and we believe it is the best partner for us in developing the Grove line of mobile cranes in China,” he says. “We have seen the global landscape for cranes change significantly over the past decade and it’s important we respond to ensure we remain a global leader in the lifting business.”
