MARKET REPORT | SOUTHERN EUROPE
our customers. This makes us flexible and able to adapt our knowledge to erect the bespoke crane that is wished for by our customers – who are also very often small- and medium-sized companies like ourselves. We can offer flexibility and very quick service, as well as a good price / quality ratio, which make us different from our big competitors. “This business model is not about big industry standardization, but still we are able to export, and the ‘Made in Italy’ label is always well accepted and recognized for the clear but excellent engineering concepts we are able to develop.
“That said, we also serve big Italian
manufacturers who invest money in standardization and automation of their manufacturing and who allow us to demonstrate that we provide safe and reliable products. The scenario is rich and varied and the pandemic has re- confirmed that the values of our company are ones that work.”
GREECE Moving eastwards, Gerasimos Koutsouvelis is the country director for Konecranes Greece. “Following the long downturn sparked by the financial crisis of 2007-2008, the Greek lifting market started to grow again by the latter half of the last decade,” he says; “It was showing healthy development especially in 2019 and early 2020. The coronavirus pandemic hit the country hard, especially its critical tourism industry, and this had knock-on effects throughout the broader economy. But the country has continued its investments in industry and digitalization. As a result, 2020 saw an
TSIOLIS RECONSTRUCTS GANTRY CRANES
In a recent large project Tsiolis Cranes of Thessaloniki reconstructed two gantry cranes to increase both theIr capacity and their spans. In their initial condition these were 25t EOT cranes each of 25m span; they were rebuilt to give 32t capacities and with 7m beam extensions at each side to give 42m span in all. complete new build. “We just used the old cranes, even the girders, as parts for new crane constructed to the customer’s needs,” said company owner Ioannis Tsiolis.
R A 25t curved-rail monorail trolley from Misia prepared for delivery
increase in GDP in the industrial sector and supporting lifting business sector. “Moving into 2021, there are a number
of promising-looking sectors for Konecranes: aluminium, shipyards (both in new ships and repairs), the mining and marble industries, energy, and general manufacturing are all hopeful. Konecranes Greece also supports Albania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Cyprus, and in these countries Waste-to-Energy and energy show potential. In 2018, Konecranes won a project for
explosion-proof cranes from the Trans- Adriatic pipeline, which operates a natural gas transportation infrastructure from the Greek border with Turkey to Southern Italy; In 2019 we delivered three large cranes – the largest was 170t – to Elval for operation and installation of their four-stand tandem aluminium hot finishing mill.
“Greece is riding a wave of increasing
optimism,” he says. “Business expectations and consumer confidence are up, and investment growth is expected to improve productivity and competitiveness. From January this year steps have been taken to reduce corporate and personal taxation. “At the same time, there have been
efforts to reduce bureaucracy and simplify licensing, and to facilitate large- scale investments. The biggest wager is whether the current pandemic-hit economic climate, people’s perceptions and new legislation can be transformed into an investment wave on all fronts. “In addition, accelerating the digital
strategy and overhauling public administration structures are crucial for Greece’s first wave adaptation to the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”
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