05.08.2004

Kobelco promote Fendrick

Almost a year after it was founded, Kobelco Cranes North America, Inc. has announced the promotion of Jack Fendrick to the position of General Manager. Fendrick joined Kobelco over nine years ago and has been instrumental in establishing the Kobelco range in North America. In a recent statement the company said “With Jack’s leadership and the support of the Kobelco Crane’s Dealer network, we will be aggressively attacking the lattice boom crawler crane market”.

Kobelco Cranes North America, Inc. (a subsidiary of Kobe Steel, Ltd.) was founded in the fourth quarter of 2003 and in October moved into a new Parts, Service & Sales facility located in Houston, Texas. Kobelco Cranes focuses entirely on the crawler crane market, currently offering 5 models ranging from 85 tons – 250 tons.

Mr. Fendrick commented, “This is an exciting time at Kobelco. We have always been known for providing the highest quality product at a good value. And now we are focusing on spreading our dealer coverage to provide the same level of support. Since January 2004, we have added 6 dealers (with 34 locations) to our dealer network and are in discussions with several others.”

Kobelco introduced the 160 ton CK1600 in May, and plan to introduce the CK4000 (400 ton) to the American market in the spring of 2005. Kobelco also supply Manitowoc with badged crawler cranes up to 150 tons, (see news archive November 17th 2003) http://www.vertikal.net/en/stories.php?id=639

Vertikal Comment

Manitowoc reported in its recent results announcement that the North American market for crawler cranes remains depressed. With both Manitowoc and Kobelco selling Kobelco built units up to 150 tons and Kobelco Cranes North America “aggressively attacking the crawler crane market” how long will it be before Kobelco take over leadership of the American crawler crane market?