‘Quality changes the world’. Driven by this philosophy, SANY Europe has become one of the most prominent international heavy machinery manufacturers. Its concrete machinery such as excavators, crawler cranes, truck cranes, pile driving machinery, road construction machinery and port machinery are synonymous with outstanding performance.
“We always put quality first,” stresses Managing Director Haijun Deng. “In terms of quality, we have long been the number one. Our products are known for their efficiency, durability, high performance and high user-friendliness. This is exactly what customers expect when working with SANY machines.”
SANY was founded in 1989 by Liang Wengen in China. Since then, the company has experienced exceptional development. In 2006, SANY started operating in Germany and established a sales branch near Cologne. It did not take long before the business began flourishing.
“After three years, we had significant increases,” states Mr. Deng. “Due to the positive development, the group decided in 2009 to set up a full organization in Germany to cover the European market. In Bedburg, we purchased 250,000 m² of land. This is where our European headquarters is based today and where we built a state-of-the-art factory, offices and a hotel.”
In 2011, after two years of construction, SANY Europe began producing in Bedburg. Only one year later, another building for painting processes was set up. “In 2009, our aim was to build a factory to manufacture pumps, mixers and similar equipment,” says Mr. Deng. “In 2012, we acquired Putzmeister, a well-known company specializing in concrete machinery. At the time, we were the market leader in concrete machinery, and Putzmeister was the challenger. Step by step, we decided to concentrate on a single brand strategy. Every market would have one single brand – SANY for China and 24 other markets in Asia-Pacific and Africa.”
Another decision was to broaden the product range further. In 2012, SANY entered the market for port machinery. In 2015 excavators were added to the portfolio.
“In 2015, we pushed several new projects forward,” stresses Mr. Deng. “We recruited new executives and established a new marketing strategy to gain a foothold in the excavator market. In 2016, at the BAUMA exhibition, we officially announced that we have established a new business unit focusing on excavators. Now, we are Europe’s number five for port machinery. The excavator business is still in the starting blocks but has a very promising future.”
These days, SANY Europe has 60 employees. In Bedburg, the company focuses on sales, after-sales and spare parts that are distributed all over Europe. “The SANY brand has developed successfully over the last few years as we have consistently focused on marketing,” emphasizes Mr. Deng. “Our market is quite narrow. Everybody knows each other, and for this reason a strong brand is hugely important. However, not only marketing but also comprehensive services make a difference. We set up a service center to provide direct and indirect service support to our dealers and end users. This service orientation is greatly appreciated by our customers.”
Dealers of port machinery, many well-known ones, are among SANY Europe’s customers. When it comes to excavators, the company relies on its network of dealers. International exhibitions such as BAUMA and GaLaBau are important platforms to communicate efficiently.
In addition, thanks to good journalist connections, advertising in magazines is also part of the marketing mix as it helps to continue strengthening brand awareness and capture focused attention.
“Over the last few years, we have had very positive development,” points out Mr. Deng. “Being part of an international group is a great asset. We benefit from a strong economic position due to the integration into the group. This enables us to invest in resources and new markets. Quality is what ultimately sets us apart. We are always focused on quality. Always. Our machines simply speak for themselves.”
Some figures illustrate SANY’s outstanding market position all around the globe. The Chinese company has 25 manufacturing plants, six sales regions, over 100 offices with more than 400 agents and 8,000 suppliers worldwide.
Research and development centers and manufacturing bases are located in China, the United States, Germany, India and Brazil. Its products are exported to 150 different countries and regions. SANY is the global leader in concrete machinery manufacturing and the leading company in excavators, pile driving machinery, road machinery, port machinery, road headers and large-tonnage cranes in China.
“The name SANY has a special meaning and highlights the company’s philosophy,” explains Mr. Deng. “It means three ones and refers to SANY’s three first-class goals: to build a first-class enterprise, to foster first-class employees and to make first-class contributions to society. We are proud to be part of such an exceptional group and are keen to contribute to its ongoing success.”
SANY Europe is going to follow its expansive business strategy. “At the moment, port machinery represents our core business,” summarizes Mr. Deng. “It is a stable business. For excavators it is still early, but we see huge potential in this sector and even more growth prospects. We are sure that in the near future we will have a well-balanced portfolio with 50% port machinery and 50% excavators. 2016 turned out to be a very good business year for SANY Europe. We are now going to work out business plans for the future based on past experience. We will present new machine models for excavators for instance. Currently, we have seven models for Europe. We will add another five models that will be presented at the BAUMA soon. We designed them together with local marketing experts aiming to cover end-user needs.”
SANY is keen to continue growing – although it is difficult to find qualified employees, the backbone of each company. “I have a clear vision for 2025,” states Mr. Deng. “It is based on a strong package, a five-year business plan. We will try to build our port machinery to the top three and our excavator business to the top five in the next five years. We are sure we can achieve this goal.”