MIDDLE EAST Ӏ REGIONAL REPORT
refurbished. Their performance data and technical features are up-to-date. We look forward to having all 26 LTM mobile cranes in our fleet by the end of the year… The value retention and durability of Liebherr mobile cranes is an important factor.” Al Askar will use its cranes
mainly for general industrial jobs.
FACTORY FIRST Wolffkran is doing more than sell its cranes in bulk to Saudi Arabia; it will soon be building them there. In February it announced
plans for a new joint venture with Saudi-based Zamil Group, one of the largest investment holding companies, with the aim of opening a Wolffkran production facility in Saudi Arabia. This will be the first tower crane
manufacturing plant in the entire Middle East, Wolffkran says, and will supply Wolff cranes not only to the Saudi Arabian market but to the entire MENA region. There is more: the JV plans also to build up a rental fleet of 300 Wolff tower cranes to hire out to contractors. Wolffkran currently has two
production sites - Plant Heilbronn
The signing of the JV contract between Wolffkran and the Zamil Group to be the first to produce tower cranes in the Middle East. From L to R: Nouf Al Zamil (irector Corporate Communications & ICT, Zamil Group), Duncan Salt (CEO of Wolffkran), Dr. Mohamed Abouelezz (Head of Business Development and Product Management at Wolffkran), Adib Al Zamil (CEO, Zamil Group), Dr. Peter Schiefer (owner and board member of Wolffkran), Abdulrahman Al Zamil (Zamil Group), Fadi Jardali (Chief Strategy and Business Development Officer, Zamil Group) and Osaid Qasim (PIF)
and Plant Luckau - both in Germany. The plans were unveiled during the Private Sector Forum in February 2024 in Riyadh. The forum was hosted by the Public Investment Fund as a platform for industry leaders and investors to discuss and collaborate on key issues and opportunities within the private sector. Zamil Group was established
in 1920 by Sheikh Abdullah Zamil. The long-established family business based in Khobar has a wide local network and many years of experience in the construction, real estate, and steel construction sectors. With the tower crane division the company is adding another line of business to its portfolio. Originally a small trading company, it has grown significantly over the past few decades, expanding into various industries and playing a key role in the development of Saudi Arabia's economy in sectors such as petrochemicals, steel fabrication and air conditioning. Today it is one of the largest private sector companies in the Middle East. “Saudi Arabia is currently
experiencing a construction boom and we are proud to be pioneering
this dynamic market with local tower crane production,” said Duncan Salt, CEO of Wolffkran, at the signing of the contract in Riyadh. The two partners are currently
looking for a suitable location for the state-of-the-art production facility, which will produce around 150 luffing jib and trolley cranes per year exclusively for the MENA region. “We will continue to manufacture for our core markets in Europe and the USA at our two established sites in Germany. The new production facility will operate completely independently of the German sites,” says Salt. “We have already received
numerous inquiries from local construction companies for major projects,” adds Dr. Mohamed Abouelezz, head of business development and product management at Wolffkran. “Whether Riyadh in the centre, Dammam in the east, or the newly emerging Neom region in the northwest, the order books in the entire region are full and the first rental cranes are already on their way.” This, too, is a strategic
expansion: Wolffkran has been
18 CRANES TODAY
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