Chinese Forklifts, Excavators Under Swedish Control

An excursion to the Shandong Lingong Construction Machinery (SDLG) factory started from the workshop, in front of which there is a low stele with a large inscription white in blue: Volvo. Indeed, here, forklifts, excavators and asphalt pavers are manufactured with the logos of the famous Swedish manufacturer. It turns out that for more than five years SDLG practically belongs to Volvo Construction, which bought 70% of the state's shares from the state and set up a production line for its own construction machinery. But the volumes of their production do not go to any comparison with the volumes of the production of equipment directly under the SDLG brand. For example, in one shop for a day do 180 bucket loaders - more than some manufacturers from other countries for a year! And it's not about the "kids" with a side turn, but about models with a carrying capacity from one to seven tons!

The plant, built in 1972, was originally engaged in mass production of wheel loaders. When economic reforms began in the country, in 1998 the enterprise was transformed into a public company, on the basis of which in 2005 an industrial park with an area of 2 million sq. M. M. And a year later, this company went under the control of Volvo. Today, about 2.5 thousand people work at the main factory in Linyi and in the branch that produces wheel loaders-excavators, graders and compactors.
In 2011, the export of SDLG equipment exceeded 3,000 units, of which about 1.2 thousand went to Russia. Total production in 2011 reached almost 39 thousand units. The result is impressive, but the company did not stop there: last November, a modern workshop for the production of crawler excavators began to operate. By deducing it to full capacity and launching a new 8 tonne loader and two models of excavators with a total mass of 12 and 36 tons, in 2012 SDLG plans to almost completely load production. And, like most Chinese machine-building giants, Shandong Lingong Construction Machinery strives to maximize the localization of component parts - making not only frames, cabs and bridges, but even hydromechanical transmissions. Of the significant units on the side, only the engines are purchased. Such a policy runs counter to the world practice, but it helps to minimize the dependence on the price situation in the market of auto components. A stable and competitive price remains the most important factor in the success of any product released in the Middle Kingdom.

The main specialization of Shandong Lingong Construction Machinery is the production of wheel loaders (50,000 units per year). Directly on the territory of the plant is a test site with an artificial hill. Machines that successfully "passed the test" are sent to an impressive site of finished products, and the technology with the detected defects enters the finishing workshop. The newest model from serially let out is LG978 with carrying capacity of 7 tons. But also other loaders (them in modeling scale about two tens) are modernized almost annually. "Look," the specialist of the plant points to one of the finished products of 5-ton machines standing on the site. "This is a recently improved model, it has a more technologically advanced front section and a modified front edge profile of the bucket." The bulk of the SDLG-branded forklifts are powered by one of China's largest engine manufacturers Weichai Power.
The second most important for the company are crawler excavators. The volume of their production sharply increased at the end of last year, when a large, well-equipped workshop began to work, where equipment was collected on several conveyor lines. Every 20 minutes a ready excavator leaves the gate! That is, about 70 machines are manufactured per day, and about 20,000 will be produced per year. Customers are offered more than ten crawler models, and the branch also produces wheeled excavators (as part of a universal machine), a dozen models of road rollers and two models of graders. The total annual output is about 5 thousand different machines.
Getting to an enterprise like Shandong Lingong Construction Machinery, you begin to understand the secret of the market success of Chinese technology. Really mass production and relatively small costs (for example, due to the mild climate in the shops and office premises there is no heating) guarantee a low cost, and the use of modern Western technologies (for which a joint venture with leading foreign companies are created) and continuous modernization allow us to offer relatively Inexpensive, but at the same time very high-quality products. The closure of the domestic market in creating a competitive environment between its own producers plus state support for exports helps these products to find a guaranteed sale. Agree, there is much to learn!