This take-up has continued in spite of some horrific incidents over the years that caused many cities to implement new regulations while increasing and tightening inspection levels. The growth has also been helped by an increase in the number of rental companies offering tower cranes alongside mobiles, promoting their benefits while improving availability.
The use of tower cranes in applications where they would not previously have been considered - such as wind turbine installation, not to mention the growth in modular construction - provides encouragement that the growth will continue. It could also be said that using a tower crane is a ‘greener’ solution, which reduces mobile cranes on the road and traffic in and out of job sites.
Chinese production dominating
In terms of tower crane production China has become far and away the dominant producer, with most western manufacturers owning and operating plants in the country, while domestic manufacturers continue to expand adding capacity and become ever more competitive thanks to heavy investment in automation. This year, China’s market leader Zoomlion claimed to be the world’s largest tower crane manufacturer, having sold cranes to the value of $1.43 billion in 2019, mostly to a strong local and regional market. The company also owns German company Wilbert which is recovering from its financial difficulties prior to the acquisition.
Large crane growth and PPVC
This story is from the April/May 2020 edition of Cranes & Access.
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This story is from the April/May 2020 edition of Cranes & Access.
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