Liebherr India: Offers High-Capacity Premium Mobile & tower Cranes

Liebherr India, Subhajit Chandra - Head, Liebherr Cranes

Liebherr is committed to serving the Indian market with its growing range of products, support and services across all business segments; we are also setting up a warehouse, a refurbishment unit, and a training center.

German crane manufacturing behemoth Liebherr is continuing to position its cranes as ‘high premium’ in the rapidly evolving Indian mobile and crawler crane market. The company has a strong footprint in heavy lift, industrial and infrastructure construction, and is investing heavily in research and development of new products with improved safety features.

India an important market

Despite business volumes being modest in India for new Liebherr Cranes due to their premium positioning, the company has been selling large capacity new crawler lattice boom cranes of 1350 tons, the LR 11350, in India in fair numbers to prestigious clients like the Nuclear Power Corporation of India.

Liebherr high capacity all-terrain and mobile cranes are also finding application in the lowering and raising of TBM sections in metro and railway projects, for heavy lifting jobs in windmill projects and for concrete bridge girders lifting jobs. We have recently completed the extended bypass to New Delhi’s T-3 International airport. We have also been selling our units to hiring agencies, end-users, and to big EPC contractors and the Liebherr name enjoys a good brand recall in India.

Strategizing for short- and long-term gains

Liebherr India is seeing a very encouraging response to the new mobile, all terrain and crawler cranes, despite the crane hiring rates reeling under intense pressure from buyers and hirers who continue to hold sway in the rental segment with their bargaining power. Despite the tough situation, 2023 has been good for Liebherr India. We have done business of 10 million USD in India through sales of our new high and mid-level cranes, especially in sectors that prioritize utmost safety.

We have been selling various cranes of capacities ranging from 50 to 750 tons. We have sold two units of our all-terrain crane LTM 1750, 750-ton, one LTM 1250-1 of 250-ton capacity, one unit of LTM 1090-4.2, of 90 tons, and one unit of LTM 1120-4.1, of 120 tons. Demand is promising as we are getting a lot of serious enquiries due to the tenders being floated for various upcoming infrastructure and industrial projects.

Dealing with rising costs

The rising costs of construction equipment cannot be ignored. We will continue working on disruptive marketing strategies to build and retain our business share, but we will refrain from offering discounts or lowering our products’ quality as per our policy. Liebherr cranes sell at a premium of 15-20 percent.

The escalated costs of cranes primarily stem from the repercussions of the Russia-Ukraine War, particularly impacting Germany and other European countries reliant on Ukrainian gas. Disruptions in gas supply have significantly increased expenses for specialized steel crucial in manufacturing booms, structures, sub-assemblies, and other essential components sourced from European suppliers.

Despite this challenge, Liebherr has managed to partially mitigate the surge in costs, setting itself apart from other manufacturers. This advantage lies in its strategy of producing a majority of its core components in-house, including tracks, engines, electronics, outriggers, winches, and control systems.

Challenge of timely crane deliveries

In view of its wide global footprint, demand for Liebherr cranes, especially post-Covid, has been high from countries like USA, Australia, Europe, and even the Middle East. Orders have been placed till 2025. In India, the company is faced with time-bound delivery schedules since projects in India, especially windmill and refinery projects, have strict completion timelines. Plus, there is high competition in the market, which is also rife with brand substitutions by cheaper products, and a bearish rental market.

In preparedness, Liebherr has built an inventory of its brought-out items and has also worked on a production plan for its complete range of 28 crane models. This gives us the confidence to sell our new cranes while also garnering new orders and avoiding the risk of brand substitution and long lead times to enable us to make timely deliveries. Our European competitors currently have a supply backlog that runs through 2025!

Refurbishing a lucrative business avenue

The company is also engaged in selling used cranes that are not very old, and cranes that have a good residual life, and which retain their EN 13000 standards. The company sold its first refurbished LTM 1225, 1998 built 225-ton all-terrain crane in 2023; it was refurbished at Liebherr India’s new yard and warehouse at Navi Mumbai. There is a good demand for used cranes and we are targeting the Middle East and Latin America, besides the domestic market for these cranes.

Most of the foreign and Indian crane rental agencies and corporates in India keep a mixed fleet of cranes of different brands and models for application in different projects and tasks. We will also look into this segment of used crane users and the long and short-term commercial viability of this business line.