Covering a total area of ~300,000 sqm with 12 indoor halls, 7 outdoor exhibition areas, and 23 themed pavilions, the tradeshow had 7 key activities, 7 main events, 2 competitions, 20 professional forums, and more than 100 business meetings. It attracted 35 of the world’s top 50 machinery manufacturers, 180 global enterprises (accounting for 12% of the total number of participating companies), and about 2,000 guests from embassies, business organizations, and trade associations of 60 countries.
A total of 1,502 global companies were present; the brands included Caterpillar, Hitachi, Sany, Zoomlion, LiuGong, Terex, Heli, etc, and a number of small and medium-sized enterprises (more than the previous edition), accounting for 70% of the participation.
CICEE 2023: Smarter & Greener
With its focus on “New Generation of High End, Intelligent, and New Energy Construction Equipment”, CICEE is considered the largest international exhibition of Chinese construction machinery. After implementation of the “National IV Emission Standard,” all the exhibited equipment is expected to meet the Standard, including engines and other core components.
Driven by the concept of ‘openness, inclusiveness, co-construction, and shared benefits, it carries out in-depth matchmaking with the ‘Belt and Road’ construction, proactively integrates with RCEP, and comprehensively expands the China-Africa and China-Arab economic and trade cooperation. The exhibition aims to foster a ‘Golden Bridge’ for exchange and development of the construction machinery industry, technological innovations, and develop high-end manufacturing clusters in the country.
In the 2023 edition, there was a display of over 20,000 new products, with most demonstrating electrification and intelligence. LiuGong exhibited more than 10 electric product ranges which included loaders, excavators, road rollers, wide-body vehicles, high-altitude work platforms, and forklifts, on its 1,400-sqm booth. Sany and Zoomlion exhibited their entire range of new products on exhibition areas that spanned tens of thousands of square meters.
Visitors witnessed ground-breaking technologies showcased for the first time, including 30+ new products of global manufacturers, 200+ new technologies, and 1000 new products, as well as 120 innovative products and technologies launched worldwide.
Integration of advanced automation, artificial intelligence, digitalization, and Internet of Things (IoT) took center stage as exhibitors presented the most cutting-edge solutions designed to enhance productivity, efficiency, and safety on construction sites. Live demonstrations, interactions, and presentations by industry experts provided valuable insights into the potential of these innovations to revolutionize the construction industry. A number of “little giant” firms (SMEs) that specialize in niche sectors, also displayed their new products and technologies.
Increasing Internationalization of CICEE
CICEE 23 attracted more than 300,000 visitors from across the world, who showed a lot of interest in the new construction machineries and products. What’s more, the profile of the visitors was also impressive as they were all professionals and experts in the construction industry. There were equipment managers from major construction companies such as China Construction Group, China Railway Construction Group, China Railway Engineering Group, and China Communications Construction Group; chairpersons of transportation investment companies in Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shandong, Jiangxi, Henan, Fujian, and Hunan; a large number of foreign visitors who came to view the high quality and performance of Chinese construction machinery (factors that have increased their export value), delegations from ASEAN, India, East Asia, and South America; officials from 33 embassies in China, including Russia, Bangladesh, Azerbaijan, Slovakia, Gambia, Guyana, Albania, the Philippines, Kenya, Afghanistan, Ecuador, Nigeria, Nepal, South Africa, Israel, Thailand, Turkey, Mexico, Pakistan, Cambodia, Algeria, Latvia, Mozambique, Saudi Arabia, and Australia, and a large number of media persons from both local and international press. A highlight was the international buyer fair held during the exhibition days by Zoomlion, Sany, and Xingbang Technology.
Hunan: A Growing National Advanced Manufacturing Highland
As an exhibition with the strongest industrial foothold and of the largest size in Hunan, CICEE has helped Changsha grow into the largest construction equipment base in China. Home to five giants - Sany, Zoomlion, Sunward, CRCHI, and Sinoboom - that rank amongst the Global Top 50, Changsha is delivering 50% of the construction equipment in China, and also playing an important role on the international stage.
In the Hunan province, the engineering machinery industry has become one of the three key industrial clusters and is supported by a series of measures to lead innovation, research, and development in the sector. The presence of major manufacturing enterprises has further enhanced the growth of this engineering machinery industry base in China.
Manufacturing is the backbone of China’s economy and Hunan has taken the construction of a national advanced manufacturing highland as a top priority during its 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25). A national advanced manufacturing highland refers to a region with a high concentration of high-end manufacturing; integration of domestic and international markets; diverse range of products; and influence in the global value chain.
As China’s largest engineering machinery industry base, there are 172 large-scale enterprises and more than 300 related enterprises in Hunan, with more than 80% of them concentrated in Changsha and the remaining in the nearby cities.
NBM Media brought 60 delegates from India to visit the exhibtion including members from major associations, namely, CERA, BAI, COAOI and APAOI.CICEE 2023: A Networking Hub for Construction Professionals
Beyond the exhibition floor, CICEE 2023 served as an important networking hub, bringing together industry professionals, government officials, investors, and decision-makers. Engaging panel discussions, seminars, and workshops facilitated knowledge sharing and fostered collaborations. The exhibition provided a fertile ground for exchanging ideas, exploring business opportunities, and establishing new partnerships with key stakeholders in the construction sector.
Large-scale conferences and seminars were held by national-level industry organizations, namely, the China Machinery Industry Federation, China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products, China Construction Industry Association, China Construction Enterprise Association, China International Contractors Association, China Chemical Construction Enterprise Association, China Civil Engineering Society, China Highway Society, China Construction Machinery Society, and China Society for Metals. These activities not only attracted high-end customers but also elevated the standard and increased the technological content of the exhibition.
International forums included the International Construction Machinery Industry Chain Forum, the International Construction Machinery CTO Forum, the ‘Belt and Road’ International Infrastructure and Engineering Equipment Business Summit, the China-ASEAN Engineering Equipment Business Summit under the RCEP framework, Latin America. A series of international business activities such as the China Construction Machinery Application Business Summit and the China-India Construction Machinery Application Business Summit, expanded foreign exchanges and improved the level of internationalization.
RCEP + India Construction Equipment Business Summit
S.A. Faridi, NBM Media IndiaFaridi, who had brought 60 delegates from India to visit the exhibition, including delegates from major industry associations, namely, CERA, BAI, COAOI, etc, informed the audience that the presence of the large number of Indian delegates is a testament to NBM Media’s strong relationship and influence. Also, their participation at CICEE 23 underlines their commitment to the growth of the construction industry of India. “We extend our gratitude to our partners in the construction fraternity for their continued support, and we look forward to furthering our partnership and contributing to the success of the construction industry together,” he said.
Satin Sachdeva, CERAThe Forum provided CERA an excellent platform to engage in meaningful discussions, establish partnerships with industry leaders and stakeholders from around the world, and explore new avenues for development. “As a leading Association in the construction equipment rental industry, we remain dedicated to fostering growth, innovation, and collaboration in the construction equipment industry,” he said.
Factory Visits
During CICEE 2023, visitors and journalists were invited to visit state-of-the-art-manufacturing and “lighthouse” factories, and witness intelligent manufacturing at the Changsha Smart Industry City.
Zoomlion Excavator Factory
As visitors entered the Zoomlion Smart Industry City, they were greeted by the sight of several workshop buildings with an integrated design, and the dynamic Zoomlion logo in aurora green adorning a building facade. The Earthmoving Machinery Park featured a spacious and bright modern factory where industrial robots were operating dexterously, and intelligent handling robots were shuttling between jobs in an orderly manner. The intensely alive intelligent manufacturing scenes appeared much like a science fiction movie.
The Earthmoving Machinery Park is the only intelligent excavator manufacturing factory in the world covering the entire process from feed preparation, welding, machining, and painting, to assembly and commissioning. In the assembly shop, raw materials down to screws are all completed by automated guided vehicles (AGVs). Through the comprehensive application of cutting-edge technologies such as intelligent scheduling, industrial AI, digital twin, and industrial Internet, as well as the interaction and integration of “visible wisdom” and “invisible wisdom”, an excavator can be produced every 6 minutes on an average.
This is the first “lighthouse” factory planned for the Zoomlion Smart Industry City. There will be 8 more such world-leading “lighthouse” factories, which will bring together 300 intelligent production lines and over 600 patented technologies. Through intelligent, digital, and green upgrades on all fronts, an advanced manufacturing industry cluster with 4 parks of original equipment, 4 centers of key parts, 8 national research and innovation platforms, and 1 international standard secretariat at the core, will be developed. In the cluster (in addition to one excavator that will roll off the production line every 6 minutes on an average), one aerial work machine will be manufactured every 7.5 minutes, one truck crane every 18 minutes, and one truck-mounted concrete boom pump every 30 minutes. After completion, the Earthmoving Machinery Park Smart Factory will become the largest construction machinery industrial base with the most complete construction equipment variety in the world. It will be a new landmark of Changsha, the “capital of construction machinery” in terms of intelligent manufacturing.
CRCHI Facility for Underground Construction and Mining Equipment
CRCHI’s new factory is devoted to underground construction and mining equipment. The company has established several manufacturing bases in China (in Changsha Hunan, Sichuan, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia. etc.), with Changsha having the biggest facility. Here, the company is manufacturing drilling and blasting machines, and TBMs of different diameters and for various geologies – the EPB, Slurry, Gripper, etc.
The full-face tunnel boring machine range of CRCHI has 9 series of products, covering three directions of horizontal, inclined, and vertical shaft, with diameters ranging from 0.5-23 meters. Based on its know-how, expertise, and experience, CRCHI is at the forefront in promoting efficiency and quality of underground construction, to reduce cost, and minimize impact on the environment.
CRCHI strongly believes that technology innovates the world and service leads the future. Accordingly, CRCHI has shaped itself as an innovative and service-orientated enterprise by realizing Differentiation, Intellectualization, and Globalization. In recent years, while continuously consolidating its leading position in the Chinese market, CRCHI has actively responded to the national ‘Belt and Road’ initiative, and promoted exports of equipment to more than 40 countries and regions, including Italy, Turkey, India, South Korea, and Peru, and the international business has achieved remarkable results.
CRCHI TBMs are well accepted by clients for their stability, sturdy construction, and efficient performance, which demonstrates the advantages and strength of CRCHI in the South Asian market. In the future, CRCHI will further strengthen its overseas markets by providing customers across the world with customized overall solutions to make tunnel construction smarter, safer, more efficient, and environment-friendly.
CRCHI, a member of Fortune Global 500 China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) entered India in 2015 and has supplied TBMs to various mega projects, including the Mumbai coastal road project, Delhi metro, Bengaluru metro, Chennai metro and Patna Metro, etc.
Media and Delegates at CRCHI plant in Changhsha, ChinaSUNWARD Drilling Equipment, AWP & Telehandler Factory
The new state-of-the-art-factory of SUNWARD (a leading underground engineering equipment enterprise) is poised to set new industry benchmarks in cutting edge manufacturing technology with modern machineries, lean manufacturing processes, and testing facilities with stringent quality control, to deliver products of the highest standards while ensuring quick delivery time for customers.
Though Sunward started studying about Aerial Work Platforms and Telehandlers and their market very early but has setup a business unit in 2020. In just 3 years, the company has developed a wide range of AWP including Scissor and Boom arms type AWPs and a series of telescopic handlers, and high-end rock drilling equipment.
Sunward’s scissor aerial work platforms have an automatic pothole protection system, a tilt protection system, and automatic revolving and locking safety door system. Every single lifting operation provides complete safety to the operator. Featuring a compact structure and simple operation, they can work flexibly in narrow spaces, and are being widely used in the construction and maintenance of commercial buildings, warehouses, plants, airports, etc.
SUNWARD’s rock drilling range includes integrated DTH drilling rigs, surface hydraulic drilling rigs, CFA Piling Rigs, cutting rigs, hydraulic rock drilling rigs, and other energy efficient products. The rock drilling equipment features a drilling diameter of Φ45-270mm and a maximum drilling depth of 42m, boasting the widest range of drilling diameters and the largest DTH diameter. The machines offer reliability, efficiency, a low operating cost, easy maintenance, and operator comfort, safety, and protection. These rock drilling machines are being sold in more than 30 countries and regions around the world, where they are being used in cement mines, metal mines, coal mines, quarries, etc.
SUNWARD has successfully developed more than 200 high-end equipment products with independent intellectual property rights and core competitiveness in more than 10 fields, including underground engineering equipment, whole series of excavators, modern rock drilling equipment, special equipment, mining equipment, hoisting machinery, hydraulic components, and general aviation equipment, and is exporting them to more than 100 countries and regions.
Growing Importance of CICEE as a Global Trade Event for Construction Sector
CICEE has once again played a crucial role in fostering innovation, promoting international cooperation, and driving the development of infrastructure projects. It is successfully positioning China as a global manufacturing hub of construction equipment. The 2023 edition of the exhibition proved to be an exceptional platform for industry professionals, manufacturers, and enthusiasts to explore cutting-edge technologies, exchange ideas, and forge valuable partnerships.
CICEE 2023 placed a strong emphasis on sustainable development in the construction industry. Exhibitors showcased eco-friendly construction materials, energy-efficient machinery, and innovative green building solutions. This emphasis on sustainability reflected China’s commitment to reducing the environmental impact of construction activities and building a greener future. Attendees had the opportunity to learn about the latest advancements in sustainable practices, discover renewable energy solutions, and explore solutions for achieving environmentally responsible construction projects.
With its wide range of innovative products, expert knowledge sharing, and networking opportunities, CICEE 2023 was an enriching experience for all participants. The event served as a catalyst for progress, shaping the future of construction and driving global infrastructure development forward. More than 100 media companies (10 foreign), represented by over 600 journalists, who came to report on the event, expressed their appreciation in glowing terms of the activities that took place through 12 to 15 May 2023.
