European crane market is optimistic

In recent years, as the economies of Sweden, Norway and Finland have eased, the government has increased its support for the construction industry, and more and more renewable energy, oil and gas resources and infrastructure projects have been launched. Crane companies also took the opportunity to expect that the economic crisis in Europe will not break their record of continuous growth.

The Nordic crane market is growing rapidly

According to reports, since the spring of last year, the Nordic region construction project has provided large-scale loans and investment opportunities. "Sweden's growth was the largest, reaching 4.4%, followed by Finland's 2.4% and Denmark's 2%, which fully demonstrated the good momentum of economic growth." The Nordic region's economic situation is stable, the government debt is lower than other EU countries, and business-to-region Economic growth is full of confidence. Since Sweden, Norway and Denmark do not use the euro, they are less affected by the economic fluctuations in the euro zone.

The European Union's official statistical agency, Eurostat, collects building statistics. The Eurostat's building production index is expressed in terms of the proportion of changes in the amount of construction work in different EU countries. According to the data, Sweden is the country with the highest construction and production index in the Nordic countries. It reached 139.65 in the second quarter of 2011, followed by Finland’s 129.37. Sweden and Finland are the countries with the highest building production index in the quarter since 2009. Followed by Norway's 106.7 and Denmark's 77.3.

Stefan Bohlin is the Swedish rental company Lambertsson Sverige AB responsible for the mobile crane business. The company leases all-terrain cranes and on-board cranes with three brands (WB MKrkranar, Ralling and Bararelaget Krancente). Lambertsson Sverige AB's parent company is Peab, an architectural company active in Sweden, Norway and Finland. It is also the largest construction company in Sweden.

Bohlin said: We have 60 sets of 30 tons to 300 tons of all-terrain cranes and 10 29tm to 150tm truck cranes. The rental scope of these cranes covers the area from Stockholm, Sweden to Malmö.

“Lambertsson has about 300 tower cranes in Sweden, Norway and Finland, and we are currently also renting cranes from the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark for the Norwegian and Swedish markets. The success of Lambertsson’s 2011 proves the Nordic economy’s financial crisis. Stability. This year is a good year for us."

“The Swedish government has done a good job in the past five years, so the economic situation in Sweden is very good. If compared with other countries, the construction work here is a matter of urgency, but it is still not clear what will happen next year,” Bohlin said.

With a good economic situation, mobile crane leasing companies are expanding in Europe. Bohlin said: "Sweden's mobile crane leasing company is growing and it has acquired a number of small crane companies. The number of small companies is getting less and less."

Bohlin goes on to say: In terms of tower cranes, I think the market has been fluctuating over the past 25 years. Since opening offices in Sweden and Norway, Lambertsson has invested in the purchase of a new Potain crane since 2004.

"In the early stages, we invested large sums of money to purchase large Linden used cranes. Construction companies like Skanska have their own cranes. The NCC has sold its own cranes and currently rents cranes from our rental companies."

Trond Helge Skretting, CEO of Norway's Nordic Crane Group, explained how the Nordic Crane Group entered the market by acquiring the family companies Stangeland Cranes and Kynningsrud. The Nordic Crane Group was formed in 2008 by merging the crane businesses of the two family companies Stangeland and Kynningsrud.

Stangeland Crane Company is a major crane supplier on the Norwegian West Coast. It has a history of 30 years and is developed from the construction industry and the oil and gas industry. Similarly, Kynningsrud is a major crane supplier on the Norwegian East Coast and Sweden, with a history of 65 years, developed from the oil and gas industry and the heavy industry industry.

"We have merged the crane branches of the two companies and established the Nordic Crane Group, which has a 50% stake in each of Kynningsrud and Stangeland."

With the expansion of operations in eastern Norway, Nordic Crane Group recently acquired TOBull in Oslo.

“At present, we have a lot of business in the construction industry in eastern Norway, where many buildings are under construction.”

Skretting plans to open a concrete component plant from 2012 to 2013 to provide concrete components for builders in winter construction.

KimEmblem is VestKran's technical manager for cross-border operations in Norway and provides lifting and transportation technical support for Norway and Turkey. Its diversified mechanical equipment includes miniature cranes, wheeled cranes and tower cranes, as well as jacks and other crane equipment. “The growth of our company's business was small in 2011, but we laid the foundation for growth from 2012 to 2013.”

Emblem thinks the reason for the downturn in the construction industry is financing. “Because of the high proportion of required equity, it has an impact on all construction projects that require financing. There are the same issues when buying new equipment.”

The financial crisis in the industrial sector is not yet over. “The industrial sector is more unstable due to the financial crisis, so there will be some minor difficulties in this market.”

In any case, the infrastructure in the Nordic region has increased the demand for cranes ranging from 50 tons to 200 tons. "The markets of Norway and Turkey are good, so we hope to have growth here," Emblem said.

VestKran’s Emblem hopes the new facility in Turkey will increase crane utilization in the winter months. “We think that investment in Turkey will pay off because Norway and Sweden do not live much in the four months of winter every year, and Turkey can use the 12 months of the year to arrange the work of people and machines. The current price is so low. This is particularly important in our case."

High-level Matti Nieminen, a senior officer at Finnish industrial heavy lifting and marine transport rental company Nostokonepalvelu, explained that these markets are recovering from the economic crisis.

“In the industrial sector, the scope of work of cranes is very different,” he said. “They are generally used as rental, heavy lifting and transport. The company also has a ro-ro ship for marine transportation.”