30.06.2020

Terex to build cranes in India

Terex Cranes is to begin manufacturing cranes at its plant in Hosur, India from next year. The company says that it will produce Franna pick & carry cranes alongside some Terex Rough Terrain and tower crane models.

The facility, located to the south of Bangalore, in south central India, was opened in December 2009 and currently manufactures Powerscreen and Terex Finlay crushers and screens along with MPS Semi-Static Plants. It employs 600 staff including a Research & Development unit staffed by 150 engineers. It is located on a 45 acre plot with around 60,000 square metres under cover. It is well equipped with machining and fabrication shops and large assembly halls with modern heavy overhead craneage.
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The Hosur facility is located on a 45 acre plot

India is one of the largest mobile crane markets in the world, with as many as 12,000 units sold in the region, while most are simple and quite basic articulated tractor cranes - essentially very crude versions of Franna’s articulated pick & carry cranes - there is also a growing market for tower cranes as well as crawler cranes.
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One of the production halls

A statement from Terex said: “This investment not only provides unfiltered access to the crane market in India, but it will also allow Terex to play a key role in the infrastructure development within the country. With a strong focus on safety, innovation and digital technology, Terex will utilise its global engineering experience to make a positive contribution to the crane industry in India.“

Danny Black, general manager of Franna Cranes said: “This is an exciting investment for Terex as we continue to promote and grow the Franna brand globally. We have already had very good experience in the Indian market. Now we have the ability to directly bring our market leading Franna technology with local homologation to improve safety and performance for the Indian market. This expansion will allow us to support our growth plans without causing any disruption to our production capacity in Australia and will allow us to be a valued competitor in India. Given our proven manufacturing capabilities with the success of other Terex brands in India, we are confident this decision will provide a positive outcome for Franna.”

Marco Gentilini, vice president of Terex Cranes, added: “It is a thrilling opportunity for Terex Cranes to build on the experience and knowledge of the team at Hosur. We have been monitoring the market and believe it is time to start a new journey that will give us a boost in the important Indian domestic market but also reinforce our presence in the region.”

Vertikal Comment

While Terex has not been overly specific about its plans in India, it looks set to begin with the Franna crane line, given that the local market is dominated by articulated tractor based cranes from the likes of Ace and Escorts - at least in terms of unit volumes. However the Franna articulated pick & carry cranes are a completely different proposition to the ones built locally in India, and likely to carry a price tag equivalent to two, three or even four local tractor cranes.

However there is a dawning realisation that these cranes while sold in large numbers are death traps. Actually the realisation is not even dawning – companies know they are but chose to ignore it – after all if they are used strictly according to the operator’s manual they are safe. Life however remains cheap.

So it might be a good time to offer a locally built Franna, however it is entirely possible that users will skip the move to a better crane, especially one with a similar concept, and go directly to small Rough Terrains or even telehandlers – Manitou launched a locally built emerging market telehandler last year, betting on that very possibility - see: Manitou targets emerging markets.

It is true that the tower crane market is on the increase and has enormous potential – think China 10 years ago! While the Rough Terrain market is definitely of interest with Escorts - possibly sensing that the end is in sight for the tractor based crane - teamed up with Tadano in 2018 to set up a Joint Venture to build Rough Terrain cranes - see: Tadano Escorts India.

The next few year should prove interesting for cranes in India – watch this space.