16.04.2015

60 Hiab telescopics for China

Hiab has won an order from Chinese rail equipment company Gemac Engineering Machinery, for 60 telescopic loader cranes, for delivery this year.

The 6.3 tonne capacity (17t/m) Hiab ST 173-063 cranes feature a 9.8 metre three section boom, with an all up weight of 2,200kg. The cranes will be installed on a range of Gemac's railway maintenance vehicles, where they will be used primarily to lift rail track sections and components.

Gemac is a state owned manufacturer of railway construction and maintenance machinery, based in Xiangyang City, Hubei Province. Established in 1958, it is the second largest producer in China, building a range of specialist railway maintenance and construction machines for conventional, electrified, urban light rail and underground railways. Its products are exported to markets in Asia-Pacific, Africa, and the Americas.
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The Hiab ST 173-063

Chen Bin, Head of Research and Development at Gemac said: "We chose Hiab to supply these cranes because it is the leading manufacturer of on-road load handling equipment, and its products are high quality and reliable. We have been working with Hiab since 2009, and have found their equipment to be well-suited to our needs."

Hiab regional vice president Eric Woon Taiboon added: "The order is a key one for Hiab. There has been a tremendous growth in the Chinese railway maintenance industry recently, following years of expansion of the domestic rail grid. This order of stiff boom cranes by Gemac shows that our products are becoming recognised by the domestic rail industry as being of high quality, and adapted to its very specific needs. It's something that we take pride in at Hiab."

Vertikal Comment

Hiab launched its ST range in 2009 in order to increase sales in Asia where the small Japanese telescopic loader cranes from Unic, Tadano others are often preferred. Further models have been added since then, but this is the first substantial order we have heard about in some time.