Major order in Western China

The economy is booming around the metropolises Chongqing and Chengdu in Western China. 32 million people live in an area the size of Austria in the Chongqing administration district around the confluence of the Jialing and the Yangtze. Apartments and shopping centres are now rising, numerous companies are having to move from their locations in the centre of Chongqing to the outskirts. This was also the case with the largest Chinese manufacturer of CNC machine tools.
At the end of 2012, STAHL CraneSystems received an order from Chongqing Crane Works (CQcrane), a local crane builder, to supply 120 hoists for a total of 86 cranes. This is the largest order for standard hoists STAHL CraneSystems has received in China up to the present. The project is a milestone for the Chongqing region too: This new industrial building is the first project of this magnitude in which crane systems of western standard are being used. The significance of the order was underlined by the presence during order negotiations of a high political offical from the municipal administration.

A number of Chinese and international crane builders had tendered for this major order from the state mechanical engineering company. The company is regarded as the largest manufacturer of gear wheel production machines, has a market share of 60 percent in China and exports to nearly 50 countries. “What was crucial was ultimately not just the price, but the considerable additional benefit which we were able to offer the company with our mature products and professional technical support”, as Jürgen Klemke, Managing Director of the STAHL CraneSystems subsidiary in Shanghai, explains. A STAHL CraneSystems employee was constantly on site to ensure trouble-free progress and close collaboration between all the partners. Experts from sales, mechanical and electrical engineering departments assisted CQcrane’s team on technical questions and helped process the order at the quality level customary in the West.

Reliable crane technology from Germany
The mechanical engineering company took advantage of the relocation of its production plant to a new 1.7 km² site to the west of Chongqing to upgrade the crane technology. Where previously obsolescent Chinese crane systems caused production downtimes more and more frequently, the company is now relying on top-quality German products. To meet the customer’s explicit request, all the hoists were manufactured in Germany and then imported to China. 15 AS 7 wire rope hoists and 105 SH wire rope hoists from STAHL CraneSystems are now in operation. On 35 crane bridges, a combination of wire rope hoists with high lifting capacities and auxiliary hoists with fast hoisting speeds are used on double rail crabs. The crane with the highest capacity has one 75 t and one 20 t wire rope hoist.

Installation and commissioning was carried out in three stages. “Thanks to efficient preparation on site and the project management in Shanghai and Künzelsau everything went smoothly. Once again we saw the advantages of an international and intercultural team of project managers working closely together”, Jürgen Klemke said after the project had been completed. “CQcrane supplied all 86 crane systems on schedule by the end of 2014 and commissioned them without errors. This was partly made possible by the excellent work of our colleague in Chongqing who assisted CQcrane in all respects”, Jürgen Klemke explains, and is pleased to have received several follow-up orders already.

STAHL CraneSystems distributes its hoists and crane components through a global network of certified crane building partners. The Chinese market is served by the subsidiary in Shanghai – one of nine subsidiaries around the world. The 22-strong team in Shanghai collaborates at present with several crane building partners in the east of the country. Due to the great distances involved and the associated transport costs the partners are mainly active in the regions around their bases.