This year’s Crane Industry Council of Australia’s (CICA’s) National Conference and Exhibition theme was ‘Building a Sustainable Tomorrow.’ Cranes and Lifting magazine sat down with Marco Burgmer, Sennebogen’s CEO for the Asia Pacific, and Anthony Heeks, Managing Director of Pace Cranes, Sennebogen National Distributor, to discuss Sennebogen’s approach to the topic.
“Sustainability is a major topic of conversation in Europe, and it is being driven through government policies, particularly in Germany. For some time, Sennebogen has been aware of the increasing environmental requirements around emissions, and for some years we have been developing our range of products accordingly,” said Marco.
“During bauma 2022 we launched our first battery electric crawler, the 50t capacity 653 E Electro Battery, but in terms of demand, I would say the markets are still not quite there when it comes to electric-driven cranes.
“Currently, we have delivered 10 battery electric telescopic crawlers, mainly to northern European and Scandinavian countries, Italy and Germany. The cranes are operating on very prestigious and high profile projects, where the project owners have specifically asked for their sites to be emission free with equipment only powered by electricity.
“As with other markets around the world, the major challenge we face in Europe, in general, is energy availability on site to power and recharge the batteries of the all-electric machines. This is still a hurdle that needs to be overcome before, I believe, we see a significant uptake of battery electric cranes,” he said.
Sennebogen has been building electric material handlers for over 30 years, and these can be used stationary position or by cable, but with limited mobility. Pure battery-powered machines, which are currently on the market, prove to be disadvantageous due to the limited operating time of the batteries. However, the new machines from Sennebogen with battery technology now combine the advantages of both solutions.
“With our material handling range we are seeing a big drive towards the electric plug-in version, and I would say, 10 per cent of our machines being sold are electrified,” said Marco. “These are mainly stationary units on recycling plants which have the required permanent electrical infrastructure.
“I am sure we are not too far away from seeing sites with the necessary electrical infrastructure to power or charge the battery-powered crawlers. New mobile rapid charging battery stations are emerging, and they could be part of the solution.”
Marco goes on to discuss Sennebogen’s sustainable approach to design, engineering and manufacturing.
“From an engineering point of view, everything we do is under the umbrella of sustainability,” he said. “Product has to become better, lighter, more efficient, more sustainable at the end of the day, especially now with the current laws in place in Europe. With the new Supply Chain Law for example, we have to prove that our products have been sustainably manufactured, obeying the codes of conduct and obeying the ethics of the law. For us, sustainability is front and central in everything we do.”
The new EU Supply Chain Law aims to integrate broader due diligence obligations for companies and requires them to identify, prevent, end or mitigate the negative impact of their activity on human rights and the environment.
“We are focused on manufacturing products which are lighter and more fuel-efficient. We are designing new models to be as light as possible but still capable of lifting to the same capacities. With all Sennebogen products, the parts and components used in our manufacturing processes are sourced responsibly from sustainable backgrounds and wherever possible, the steel we use is carbon-neutral steel, which is a big step,” said Marco.
Over the years, Sennebogen has made significant investments in its ‘state-of-the-art’ manufacturing facilities, manufacturing and engineering processes.
“All of our factories are carbon neutral, and we utilize ‘green energy’ in all our plants. We generate electricity via extensive solar panel systems, we use pellet heater systems for heating the facilities in winter and from a manufacturing point of view, we use sustainable resources and sustainable raw materials wherever possible,” he said.
“Our steel-making plant in Hungary, for example, is a very much automated plant, but we manufacture a lot of machines which are specifically developed for our customers and therefore involve customising models to suit. This means a lot of the work in our factories is relatively manual and the adaptation of robotic technology and automation doesn’t particularly apply,” said Marco.
Anthony explains how well regarded Sennebogen product is by the Australian market.
“The Sennebogen brand is well known for the quality and robust nature of its products and it is not uncommon for us to receive tenders stating the requirement for a Sennebogen telescopic crawler,” he said.
“One of the major factors relating to the success of the Sennebogen brand locally is the support provided by our business, Pace Cranes. We certainly carry a lot of spare parts and our service technicians know the equipment.
“Over the years we have maintained a rigorous program of internal training. These involve Sennebogen technical staff visiting from the factory to present the latest product developments and the service requirements that go with them. We invite our service agents from New Zealand and all over Australia to participate. Over the years, we have certainly invested in the product, which enables us to provide our customers with second to none service and support.”
The local telescopic crawler market is particularly buoyant at the moment and Anthony explains why.
“We have represented the Sennebogen product since 2010 and I can’t remember a period where the demand for telescopic crawlers has been this high. For a number of reasons crawlers are now recognised as a serious sector in terms of crane models.
“There are probably several reasons for this unprecedented demand, one of these is the large infrastructure underway up and down the East Coast and these include a lot of tunneling work. Compared to other brands, Sennebogen is probably the most compact telescopic crawler on the market making it popular for working in confined spaces,” said Anthony.
Marco discusses Sennebogen’s vision for the next five to 10 years.
“We are continuously developing our range and the telescopic crawlers will be a significant focus. During the next five to 10 years, you can expect to see bigger and larger capacity models from Sennebogen.
“We see the trend of popularity towards telescopic crawlers, not only here, but in other global markets, and we are considered one of the market-leading brands. Being recognised as a quality and innovative leader, we will definitely work to maintain and improve on this reputation,” said Marco.
“Sustainability will continue to be a major focus and we will approach the business from a holistic point of view and examine ways to make our production processes more sustainable. You will also see significant developments in other product such as duty-cycle cranes. We have developed our niche in the market and will continue to develop our products from a more sustainable point of view,” he said.
Anthony agrees with Marco’s observations around niche products.
“Our business model has always been focused on niche equipment. You can see it in the products we represent. We’re not up there competing in road-registered all-terrain cranes or truck cranes. We’ve always been a company which has identified a different niche, and that’s why the partnership between Pace Cranes and Sennebogen has been so strong for so long.
“It really is a great partnership. Our business is very customer and support-focused, but we can only do so much. We need the same approach from our suppliers and the whole team at Sennebogen deliver on that, they are amazing with their support and backup. Marco has always supported us, which has helped make ours a really great partnership,” said Anthony.