In mid-March Manitowoc moved into its new offices and workshop in Western Sydney. The facility provides more space and updated equipment to increase support for customers.
Now spanning an impressive 20,000 square metres – up from 7400 square metres – the new facility provides increases in offices, parts storage and workshop space to enhance service and repair capabilities.
The facility also offers ENCORE™ refurbishment services, a training centre, sales offices, and large hardstand yard space. John Stewart, Manitowoc Cranes Australia VP Sales & Support / General Manager provides more information.
“Initially, a major focus was to have our parts division in place and running, as well as our service division. There are some adjustments still to be made, including ensuring equipment is in the right place to efficiently manage the flow of work through the workshop.
“We are currently in the process of renovating the training rooms and we are installing an overhead crane for the heavier side of the servicing, and we are probably four to six months before that’s completed. The wash bay is 90 per cent of the way there and we are working with the local council to have the plans signed off before we start the installation. It’s a significant wash bay measuring 10 metres wide by 22 metres in length,” said John.
The new facility boasts 20,000 square metres compared to 7400 square metres and provides a much better layout.
“We had 7200 square metres with the previous facility with approximately 2500 usable for the crane side of the business. The rest was allocated as a parking lot and storage areas and it didn’t provide a good ‘work flow’.
“For some time, we have wanted to increase our new and used crane sales as well as increase our service capabilities, and for this to happen we have needed a much larger facility. Already we have seen a significant increase in our servicing capabilities with five or six cranes being serviced or repaired at the same time. We have good levels of new stock on the hard stand, and we have some used cranes which are ‘trade ins’ which will be refurbished and sold,” said John.
Since the move, the servicing side of the business has seen a significant increase in demand.
“We’ve just hired two more technicians, and we have had a couple of guys join our team in the workshop and they’re getting the workflow right. The biggest change within Manitowoc is the understanding that manufacturing is getting increasingly competitive and that we need to be operating at a higher and more successful level in terms of being a service provider and not be an OEM supplying equipment. We need to provide the best service.
“We have an internal initiative to dramatically increase our ‘non new crane’ sales, that translates into a massive focus on the customers’ experience and satisfaction with our support of their businesses. If we’re the best in class for after sales service and support, we’ll sell more new and used cranes as well,” said John.
Designed with future growth in mind, the new facility provides ample room for workforce expansion and operational enhancements. By year-end, the team is expected to grow, with additional personnel supporting service, parts, and training operations.
“This expansion is critical to supporting our growth targets in the after sales side of the business,” said Paul Churchill, Director of After sales, Manitowoc. “We are positioning ourselves to meet growing market demands with more products and better service offerings, making it easier for our customers to maintain and repair their cranes efficiently.”
A number of significant releases from Grove and Potain at this year’s bauma attracted visitors to the stand.
“From a technological point, the new product releases at bauma, especially the five-axle machines machines including the GMK5130L, the GMK5250XL-1 and the new 150t electric hybrid versions, GMK5150Le and GMK5150XLe demonstrated how competitive we are compared to other brands.
“Although customers are paying a premium for the technology, the performance of the hybrid technology is extremely high with no fall-off of the actual performance of the cranes and regeneration of the batteries when you’re driving has been really paramount to the success of the technology. The major feature is it’s self-sufficient, you don’t need to plug it in. You charge the battery with the engine, and you have the plug-in as an option.
“All of our cranes are hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO)-compliant which means you have a 90 per cent reduction in emissions with the Tier 5 engine and then HVO and the hybrid option as well. Another advantage of the hybrid is you don’t put engine hours on the crane because the superstructure is powered by the battery, which means a significant increase in time between services. When you come to sell the crane, there will be less hours on the engine,” said John.