LATIN AMERICA | REGION REPORT
Ecuador, Colombia and the others, we expect sales volumes to go back at least to 2019 pre-Covid levels. “As a company, during this Covid period
we strove to maintain or expand our stock volume, sales force, training, product line and more, which are qualities that we are known for. We should be able to meet and reach their material handling needs,” adds Padilla. Street Crane is another manufacturer
very active in the region. Victor Saucedo is their Latin America account manager. “In 2020, Street Crane experienced a decline in sales, especially during the six months from March through August, due to the pandemic,” he says. “Among the most affected sectors were automotive, general manufacturing, oil and gas and mining industries, mainly in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, México and Perú. We started seeing signs of recovery from late July 2020 as capital projects that had been put on hold were slowly reactivated in the last two quarters of the year.” He too is upbeat for the future: “Our
business growth expectations for 2021 are cautious but optimistic, as we continue to see increasing demand for our full range of LX series electric chain hoists and ZX series electric wire rope hoists and crane kits. It is coming from the mining, steel, metalworking, cement, power and construction industries, particularly in México, Colombia and Chile. “Despite the impact that the pandemic has had on our regional business we have still been able to supply our customers with bespoke solutions for demanding applications. Some projects where we have supplied both standard and special products include Saint Gobain’s flat glass plant in Morelos, Ternium’s steel plants in Nuevo León and Puebla – all of those in Mexico - Anglo American’s copper mining plants in the Chilean region of Valparaíso and Gerfor’s Cundinamarca PVC pipe plant in Colombia.” “We sold last year one special project
of fully automatised cranes for a steel mill in the north of Mexico,” says Garcia of GH Mexico. “Now we are in the middle
of another flagship project: two 300-ton cranes for the large 2,600MW HidroItuango Hydroelectric Plant in Columbia,” adds commercial director Ezpeleta. “They are the highest capacity cranes that GH has ever built. The whole team is proud that this has been done here. We are also working on important projects such as the Salitre Wastre water treatment plant in Bogotá, the Quito and Lima metros and the Ivirizu hydroelectric plant in Bolivia, as well as steelworks and mining projects. “The truth is that we are a region with considerable capacity for growth. There is much to do and we are not lacking in either talent or opportunities.” His colleague Garcia adds this: “GH
Mexico started in this country in 1999, so we have been more than 20 years in this market. 2021 will be better than 2019 and 2020. We believe in Mexico and we are absolutely sure that in the near future business will be strong again.” He was speaking of one country; but the sentiments are valid, not only for Mexico, but probably for the continent as well. ●
R A 16t hoist from Stahl, part of Columbus McKinnon 34 | April 2021 |
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