Crane Builder Expands International Network
The UK's largest privately owned crane maker, Street Crane Company, has announced it is on target to export 1500 hoist units and crane kits overseas this year. A key element in this success is an expanding network of international trade partners in areas as remote as Oman, Chile and Vietnam.
(PRWEB) October 1, 2005 -- The UK's largest privately owned crane maker, Street Crane Company, has announced it is on target to export 1500 hoist units and crane kits overseas this year. A key element in this success is an expanding network of international trade partners in areas as remote as Oman, Chile and Vietnam.
The company is well known for their reliable factory cranes, of which Street produce over 400 complete units per year, mostly for UK manufacturers. Street realised many years ago that it was not practical to export the heavy 'low-tech' structural parts of a crane, however, their expertise, hoists and controls were in demand.
"Success is due to three factors", says sales director Keith Rainford. "A focus on world markets, investment in new products, processes and systems, and finally, being flexible in the face global challenges as the world economy restructures around new developing nations."
Thirty years ago Street became an active exporter. Most sales at that time were to the Middle East and Africa through UK companies delivering power and infrastructure projects. As overseas industrial development progressed, the focus has changed and the company became directly involved, servicing overseas clients through a network of trade partners. These are not just standard sales agents, but companies with technical resources. They are therefore able to analyse client processes to establish needs and specify the correct Street equipment.
The process of sharing technical expertise is critical to forming strong working partnerships. Street's design and estimating software is a key element in this, providing partners with the tools to design bespoke cranes from a catalogue of 30,000 standard components. Overseas partners then draw on the UK for higher value and more easily shipped items such as hoists, controls and travelling equipment. Local fabricators are often used for the production of bulkier structural elements. The software design tools provide consistency with Street specifications.
Street now has trade partners around the globe. In Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand these are mature relationships. Recently, trade partnerships have been established in Chile, Thailand, Oman, Kuwait and Vietnam and the company has an active programme to seek further mutually beneficial trade ties.
Projects have included cranes for Gulf based aluminium smelters Dubai Aluminium and Aluminium Bahrain. These are both multi billion dollar investment projects that use the plentiful local energy supply to create a high value commodity. Working with their local partners, Street has engineered special cranes for these applications to work intensively at extreme temperatures in electrically charged environments.
In the UK, they have installed cranes to a value of over 1.8 million for Corus over the past 12 months as the company re-structured its warehousing and logistics operations. Over one million of this expenditure was at a single site in the midlands where five high specification heavy-duty cranes have been installed in a depot with high material throughput.
"The notion that all manufacturing industry has packed its bags and shipped out of the UK is nonsense," Keith Rainford asserts. "Companies who refocus to address global markets, add value to create better products and invest both in product and software to speed the design and manufacturing process can still prosper in the UK while achieving significant success overseas."
More information:
Keith Rainford, Street Crane Company, Tel. 00 44 1298 812456 Fax. 00 44 1928 814 945 Web: www.streetcrane.co.uk
High/low resolution images are on the web at www.ainsmag.co.uk/st165/4066st1a.htm
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