Global
ambitions
TOM STONE, iVT INTERNATIONAL
BORN OUT OF STATEOWNED RESEARCH AND ASSETS IN 1992, ZOOMLION
HAS GROWN TO BECOME CHINA’S LARGEST CONSTRUCTION VEHICLE
MANUFACTURER. BUT, AS ITS CHAIRMAN DR ZHAN CHUNXIN TELLS iVT IN THIS
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW, THERE IS STILL MUCH TO DO AND THE COMPANY’S
SITES ARE NOW SET ON EXPANDING OPERATIONS AROUND THE WORLD
26 iVTInternational.com February 2020
1992
The year that Zoomlion
was established
Chinese construction
machinery giant Zoomlion is
becoming the big cat of Oriental
enterprise on the world stage. Born
out of the scienti c apparatus of the
Chinese state in 1992, Zoomlion’s
rise to become the world’s sixthlargest
construction equipment
manufacturer has blossomed on the
growth of China itself as a global
economic power. Floated on the
Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2000,
Zoomlion now produces some 460
machines, operating in over 120
countries and generating around
US$4 billion in revenue last year.
While this is down on a peak
turnover of US$7 billion before
2008’s global nancial crisis, now
Zoomlion is expanding once more.
It reported a net pro t of US$370
million during the rst six months
of 2019, up 198% on 2018. Revenue
jumped 51% during this period. e
company remains xed on a course
of international expansion through
acquisition coupled with localised
management of European brands
including CIFA, M-TEC and Wilbert.
“It’s easy to forget that Zoomlion
only began 26 years ago with
CN¥500,000 (about US$72,000) of
starting capital,” says Dr Zhan,
whose own story is inextricably
woven into the history of the
company he created. “For 10 years
I was an engineer, then became head
of a Chinese state institute
researching construction machine
technologies. But we always
transferred our discoveries to
di erent companies,” he recalls.
“When I was young, I remember
thinking: ‘Why can’t we see these
projects through ourselves?”’
From Changsha to the world
Instrumental in obtaining the
starting capital loan, Dr Zhan
assembled a team of seven fellow
engineers and formed Zoomlion in
Changsha, Hunan Province out of
pre-existing divisions of the
Ministry of Construction, before
subsuming other state assets in the
company’s early days. Having
subsequently steered Zoomlion to
prominence in China, Dr Zhan now
turns his eyes to the great game of
global expansion.
“To propel itself into the future,
Zoomlion must not only advance
in China, but also internationally,”
says Dr Zhan, for whom a primary
objective in this growth is to foster
international supply chains. “ e
majority of our suppliers come from
China, so we want to learn from our
peers but also converse with
component suppliers, who are the
main driving force behind industry
advancement.”
Dr Zhan is proud of Zoomlion’s
wide range of vehicles, which in the
construction sector alone
encompasses concrete machinery,
cranes, dry-mortar equipment,
aerial work-platforms and forkli s.
In the USA the company
distributes construction machinery
from its base in Yorkville,
Wisconsin, and will be exhibiting
its latest machines at ConExpo in
Las Vegas in March, from a range
than includes excavators, rough
terrain cranes and crawler cranes
such as the ZCC2600.
Prominent in the European
market are Italian-made products
from its 2008 acquisition of CIFA
(Compagnia Italiana Forme
Acciaio), including a carbon- bre
arm pump-truck and plug-in hybrid
truck mixer and pump from the
CIFA Energya range. Under
Zoomlion, CIFA has grown from a
regionalised company to develop
truly global reach, now accruing
30% more revenue from third
parties outside Italy than preacquisition.
Meanwhile, Zoomlion
has bene tted from innovation at
CIFA and mutually improved
distribution channels to emerging
markets in Africa, Southeast-Asia
and the Middle East. In 2013,
Zoomlion acquired M-TEC, a
world-leading German brand of
MARCH 10-14, 2020
LAS VEGAS
Zoomlion
Bronze Lot — B7001
Festival Grounds — F6270
/iVTInternational.com