Off-Highway Research
EQUIPMENT ANALYSIS:
HYDRAULIC EXCAVATORS - FRANCE
MAY 2003
CONTENTS
PAGE
INTRODUCTION
1
SUMMARY
1
ECONOMIC AND CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY
2
MARKET SIZE AND TRENDS
5
PRODUCTION
12
COMPONENT SOURCING
17
FOREIGN TRADE
18
MARKET SHARES
21
MARKETING AND DISTRIBUTION
25
PRICING
29
POPULATION AND END-USERS
30
FORECAST TO 2007
33
MACHINES AVAILABLE
34
DOMESTIC MANUFACTURERS
41
IMPORTERS
41
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EQUIPMENT ANALYSIS:
HYDRAULIC EXCAVATORS – FRANCE
MAY 2003
INTRODUCTION
This report concerns the market in France for hydraulic excavators.
They are defined as
machines capable of turning through 360 degrees, which are mounted either on tyres or on steel
tracks. Service weights range from 6.1 to over 600.0 tonnes. Off-Highway Research labels
machines up to 6.0 tonnes as mini excavators. The sector of machines from 6.0 to 11.0 tonnes is
often called “midi” excavators, which nearly always have a special design to minimise the tail
swing and make the machines useful in narrow job sites. All these are included in the report's
definition of the hydraulic excavator.
The findings presented in this report are based on the existing database of Off-Highway Research
and on an interview programme undertaken in France with all leading manufacturers, importers
and distributors in January 2003.
SUMMARY
Table 1. France: Statistical Summary of Hydraulic Excavators, 2002
Number of Domestic Manufacturers
Market Leader
Production (units)
Domestic sales (units)
Importers' Penetration (% of total)
Population
Sales Forecast 2007
4
Case
3,885
4,100
72
32,000
4,000
Source: Off-Highway Research
In 1999 sales rose to the impressive level of 4,000 units and, to the surprise of many, went to
over 5,000 units for two years and stayed at 4,100 in 2002. There was a highly visible trading
down to smaller machines from 7.0 to 12.0 tonnes; earthmoving work moved increasingly to the
sub-contractors with smaller machines in larger numbers; and, finally, users had a strong
incentive to replace machines because the low value of the euro made European excavators very
easy to sell in Africa and the Middle East. New urban works such as the tramways being
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installed in provincial cities favoured wheeled excavators, which were notably healthier in 1999
to 2002 but crawler excavators have sold extremely well at the same time.
The total production level has stagnated during the second half of the 1990s and only in 2000 did
it exceed the level seen at the beginning of the decade. The production level fell in 2002 because
of the state of the European market; the closure of production at Furukawa; and the running
down of crawler excavator production by Case.
In 1999 and 2000 Caterpillar took first position in the market away from Liebherr, which
recovered by 2001 because of its strong performance in wheeled excavators. Case suffered a
serious loss of share because of its performance in that sector, descending to only 16 per cent in
1999 and 2000 but climbing back up again in 2002. Volvo made a strong start with its Korean
machines.
A return to the traditional average level of sales for 2003 and 2004 is predicted, with recovery for
the wheeled excavators starting earlier. In the medium term the market should be pulled up again
when owners trade in the machines they bought in 2000-2001.
ECONOMIC AND CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY
Economic Activity
The economy improved rapidly in 1998 and flourished for three years. Consumers increased
their spending on durable goods and cars and companies spent much more generously on capital
projects than they had done for many years. Fixed investment soared and stayed high into 2000.
High levels of private and public consumption reigned until the end of 2001, helped by low
interest rates and, at last, there was some improvement in unemployment among the young.
Consumers were euphoric, with wage demands and inflation being low.
On the other hand, wage deals associated with the introduction of the 35-hour working week
tended to be very low and cut household incomes towards the end of the period. By 2001,
industrial production was going down in most sectors except passenger cars (where the market
remained strong through to 2002) and the economy was in a reasonable state. 2002 was not so
good and economic growth as a whole was its lowest level since 1996, although the trend of
private spending was still positive, to the surprise of the economic analysts.
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Table 2. France: Selected Economic Indicators, 1998-2002
Annual Change (%)
1998
3.5
7.2
11.6
5.2
3.6
GDP
Fixed Investment
Unemployment Rate %
Industrial Production
Short Term Interest Rates (%)
1999
3.2
6.2
11.0
2.0
3.0
2000
4.2
6.2
9.5
3.4
3.3
2001
1.8
3.4
8.9
4.3
2002
0.9
(0.8)
8.7
3.5
Source: Economist Intelligence Unit
The trend of spending on capital goods went from very positive in 1998 to 2000 to a fall in real
terms in 2002. Heavy investment in the earlier period left firms with high levels of debt and
excess capacity, while household spending on investment (essentially buying houses) ceased to
grow at the end of the period shown above.
Public Works
Data on public works activity is published by the contractors’ trade association, the FNTP but
with a delay of about one year. The table below gives the data for the first part of the period,
unfortunately marked by a change in method and the move to the euro.
Table 3. France: Public Works Activity, 1998-2002
1998 (FRF mn)
New Series (€ mn)
1999
2000
2001
2002 (provisional)
Value
133,573
24,901
27,944
29,230
28,500
Annual Change
Current
Constant
Prices
Prices
(%)
(%)
-1.0
-1.5
-*
12.2
4.6
-2.5
-*
7.8
2.9
na
*A change in methodology makes comparison of 1999 to 1998 impossible.
Source: FNTP
The central government’s need to cut its deficit in the 1990s caused a depression in public works
up to and including 1998. On the other hand, the reform of local authorities’ finances put them
in a very good position when the economy improved in 1998 and 1999, increasing their tax
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receipts. They could spend on public works projects and did so, making them the mainstay of a
revival of the public works market in the country as a whole.
1999 was marked by slowness in public works activity in the first half, and then fast growth in
the second. Consequently, the volume of work grew by about 5.0 per cent in the year. That
estimate is approximate, as the FNTP trade association changed its methodology for accounting
for non-respondents in its survey for 1999 and later years.
This stimulated a most unexpected optimism among the public works contractors at the end of
the decade. In 2001, real growth of 2.6 per cent in total activity was visible. The private sector
increased its work by eight per cent but a reduction in spending by the central government and
state enterprises (EDF/GDF, the gas and electricity monopolies and the motorway companies)
dragged the total down.
Unfortunately, the beginning of 2001 marked a short-lived high point. By the end of that year all
growth had disappeared in both the work done and the new contracts made. In 2002, the amount
of work done slowed by about 3.5 per cent in real terms. Contractors were wary that the change
to a right wing government might bring some budget trimming.
2002 showed a negative result mainly because the local authorities slowed the pace of contract
awards in a year with many elections that changed the composition of the ruling councils. The
central state budget was frozen in mid-year and so its spending slowed in the second half. Public
enterprises such as the gas and electricity monopoly EDF/GDF, France Telecom and the toll
motorway companies kept up their spending on public works.
In the last five years there has been an acceleration in the use of subcontractors for earthmoving,
which has worked to the benefit of those specialists. The FNTP estimates that over 75 per cent
of earthmoving is now done by specialists that enjoyed real rates of growth in their business of
seven to eight per cent from 2000 onwards, when the overall industry was decelerating from
eight per cent growth to a decline of three to five per cent by 2002. Whilst there was clearly no
tidal wave of public works to make them rich in 2000 to 2002, nevertheless the market has gone
in their direction recently, giving them great confidence to invest in equipment for their
specialised work.
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MARKET SIZE AND TRENDS
Table 4. France: Sales of Hydraulic Excavators, 1993-2002
(Units)
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1,445
2,155
2,855
2,293
2,366
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2,865
4,000
5,100
5,155
4,100
Source: Off-Highway Research
From 1991 to 1993, demand for excavators was very depressed, as public works activity
decreased sharply in the recession. 1994 and 1995 showed signs of recovery but in 1995, 1996
and 1997 sales were barely below the long-term trend. After that matters began to improve.
Interest rates fell, public works projects were unblocked and both commercial and house
construction improved, necessitating the building of more access roads. In 1998 sales rose by
22 per cent, in 1999 by no less than 38 per cent and in 2000 by a further 27 per cent.
The amount of hydraulic excavators sold since 1999 has been quite unprecedented. The machine
has not increased seriously in its capabilities but in the last four years sales have averaged
4,600 units annually, compared to 1,900 in the 1980s and 2,200 in the early 1990s.
The
explanations are various.

A good part of the demand was simply furnished by replacement of machines bought in the
second half of the 1980s and reaching the end of their lives.

Optimism in the business community was quite strong in the period from 1998 to 2000
inclusive. That optimism has gone now but it cannot be forgotten as a potent factor in
sustaining investment in earlier years.
It supported the wave of industrial/commercial
building that gave work for hydraulic excavators, as well as being a part of the decision of so
many users to buy construction equipment at that time.

Admittedly, it was not simply a case of the mood disappearing on September 11 th, 2001.
The public works market had already slowed in early 2001 and eventually pushed the
excavator market downwards.
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
Highly visible trading down to smaller machines. The sector from 7.0 to 12.0 tonnes has
grown very quickly because of the insertion of such machines into rental fleets.
The
Caterpillar dealer and Komatsu’s own rental company have done this, as have some national
rental houses, a few locals and some dealers. This has added 350 or more excavators to the
market total in one year.

Small machines were also very suitable for contracts for local authorities. To an extent the
local authorities have even created new excavator users by giving out so much work. There is
a countervailing danger that if local authority work dries up in the future, these users will
have no cash flow from the only source that they know and might go bankrupt before paying
off the loans taken out to buy the machines.

Earth moving work has moved increasingly to the sub-contractors and they work with
smaller machines in larger numbers.
Advances in product design make the new small
machines under 16.0 tonnes almost as productive as 20.0 tonne machines of ten years ago.

Users such as the contractors just mentioned have had a strong incentive to replace
machines from the frequent telephone calls which they have from export agents seeking good
quality used excavators. The low value of the euro has made European excavators very easy
to sell in Africa and the Middle East and export agents have to have stock to make turnover.
They therefore pester franchised dealers to find machines and create deals by going directly to
users with cash offers for machines that have been well maintained. The user can then
employ the proceeds to buy part of a new excavator with the rest being financed by a lease
that will undoubtedly be cheaper than he has seen for some time.
The small excavators have proved their worth but the rental companies still have to satisfy
themselves that the risk was worth taking. If that is so, then the market will change in nature in
the coming decade after relatively little change in the 1990s.
The two types of hydraulic excavator have broadly different roles. Wheeled excavators perform
maintenance and renovation tasks in the urban works market, as well as a specific role in farm
crop handling in the north; crawler excavators are the bulk earthmoving tools and the choice for
any work involving machines over 20.0 tonnes’ service weight.
In the latter part of the 1990s the share of the business was 60 per cent in favour of the crawler
excavator and 40 per cent for the wheeled excavator. Since 2000 the market has been more
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skewed towards the crawler excavator, even if sales of wheeled machines were very good in
2000 and 2001. It was slower than the wheeled type to show signs of recovery at the end of the
decade, so its share of the business dipped in 1998 but went up again in 1999.
Table 5. France: Sales of Hydraulic Excavators by Type, 1998-2002
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
Wheeled
Units
%
1,265
44
1,530
38
1,940
38
1,800
35
1,500
37
Crawler
Units
%
1,600
56
2,470
62
3,160
62
3,355
65
2,600
63
Total
2,865
4,000
5,100
5,155
4,100
Source: Off-Highway Research
New urban works such as the tramways being installed in provincial cities have favoured the
wheeled excavators, which have been notably healthier. The results of 1999 to 2002 are the
highest sales for wheeled excavators for at least 20 years. Part of this is due to the ongoing
success of the Mecalac, a multipurpose machine that came on the market in the middle of the
1980s. Although it can work well as a wheeled loader and a fork lift, the machine is accepted by
the industry as a wheeled excavator.
Wheeled Excavators
Table 6. France: Sales of Wheeled Excavators by Weight Category, 1998-2002
Tonnes
6-8
8-13
13-15
15-17
17-20
Over 20
1998
Units
25
380
385
235
220
20
Total
1,265
%
2
30
30
19
17
2
100
1999
Units
37
503
485
250
230
25
1,530
%
2
33
32
16
15
2
100
2000
Units
80
505
640
270
290
35
1,940
%
7
26
33
14
15
2
100
2001
Units
130
490
615
225
290
50
1,800
%
7
27
34
13
16
3
100
2002
Units
100
400
470
210
290
30
1,500
%
7
27
33
15
16
2
100
Source: Off-Highway Research
The table above combines all types of wheeled excavator above 6.0 tonnes:
Midi excavators in the 6.0 to 8.0 tonnes category. This category sits uneasily in the French
context, because of the massive popularity of the 7.0 to 8.0 tonne backhoe loader, which has a
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population of about 26,000 machines and annual sales of 3,500 units. In backhoe loaders buyers
have concentrated on the 7.5 to 8.0 tonnes machine and, by ordering them with turbocharged
engines and a variety of attachments, have made fairly good multipurpose machines. They also
have a good road speed (35 or 40 km/hr), whereas hydrostatic drive tends to limit a wheeled
excavator to speeds below 20 km/hour.
The change that came over the market after 1999 was the result of the launch of the first
successful small (7.1 tonnes) version of the Mecalac, called the 10MX and now known as the
10MSX. A previous small Mecalac weighing 8.5 tonnes and equipped with an Isuzu engine had
been far from successful but the new machine is particularly quiet and has as an option the
EasyDrive system for keeping the excavating and loading buckets level. The new machine has
reawakened interest in small wheeled excavators, as it is manoeuvrable and able to load a truck
without moving from its work position in a city street. It also has a reasonable maximum road
speed of 27 km/hour.
Standard wheeled excavators from 8.0 to 13.0 tonnes. This sector includes most versions of the
Mecalac, which have a travel speed of up to 26 km/hour, with the largest version having a
gearbox adapted to a maximum speed of 30 km/hour. The Mecalac has contributed half of the
volume present in this sector, the rest coming from Italian machines made by Komatsu and FiatHitachi, or from Liebherr, all of them having devised solutions with offset booms and/or
articulation. Ingenuity has come to the rescue of the small excavator, putting into it features like
the offset boom to change the shape of the machine; or else remaking it entirely as M. Pingon did
when he created the Mecalac.
Standard wheeled excavators from 13.0 to 19.9 tonnes. These are legal to travel on the roads
and they have always been popular. They are dominant in the northern part of France. It used to
be that the interest was spread evenly over many sizes, from 13.0 to 19.0 tonnes, but in recent
times the popular 13 to 15 tonne types have done particularly well.
A strong argument exists for saying that buyers of wheeled excavators are not in fact looking for
the sophistication that they receive. The driver is really governed by mundane factors such as
traffic lights at the road repair where he is working, or the supply of trucks to take away his
muck. What he likes is comfort and visibility and, being a small businessman, he cannot pay for
great sophistication or extra pumps to give him faster rotation, which he does not need, anyway.
Electronics are useful only if they feed a good supply of accurate information to the operator as
to the state of the machine. If anything distinguishes his needs it is a high lift capacity, for many
wheeled excavators work permanently with a clam shell, lifting muck out of the trench rather
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than breaking it out of the pile; and a minority of them works each year loading potatoes and
sugar beets in the fields.
Wheeled excavators over 20.0 tonnes. These machines exceed the weight limits for driving on
the roads, although they can be carried on low loaders, of course. They are more likely to be put
to work in timber yards and metal scrap processing, where they have very long lives. They are
sold with extra long booms and magnets, grabs or clamshells. Elevating cabs are a strong sales
point in the materials handling market, which also looks for heavy duty undercarriages, in view
of the working conditions. The volumes have been low but have risen recently as cable cranes
have come up for replacement in ports and scrap yards and provided opportunities to sell large
wheeled excavators.
Crawler Excavators
Table 7. France: Sales of Crawler Excavators by Weight Category, 1998-2002
Tonnes
6-8
8-12
12-14
14-16
16-19
19-21
21-24
24-33
33-50
50-90
Over 90
1998
Units
70
30
110
170
175
170
420
245
175
33
2
Total
1,600
%
4
2
7
11
11
11
26
15
11
2
-
100
1999
Units
120
40
180
225
270
375
625
375
225
30
6
2,470
%
5
2
7
9
11
15
25
15
9
1
-
100
2000
Units
290
99
255
240
340
580
800
280
230
45
1
3,160
%
9
3
8
8
11
15
20
9
7
1
-
100
2001
Units
410
140
340
220
285
590
620
410
285
55
5
3,365
%
12
4
10
7
8
18
18
12
8
2
-
100
2002
Units
380
100
285
180
210
440
530
290
155
25
5
2,600
%
15
4
11
7
8
17
20
11
6
1
-
100
Source: Off-Highway Research
Small crawler excavators under 12.0 tonnes (midi excavators) did not sell well before 1999. A
few mini excavator manufacturers made crawler-mounted models (‘big minis’) which came into
this category and the rest of the market was to be found in a handful of models, mostly offering
the type of articulated arm found on the much more popular wheeled excavators.
In Japan crawler excavators of narrow dimensions and weighing 7.0 tonnes have become very
popular. Caterpillar now makes such machines in France and Case started marketing the same
formula, made by Sumitomo in 2000. Komatsu launched a machine on the market in France,
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made in Italy, then in 2000 Kobelco made a determined assault on the French market with
narrow-radius machines.
Both Caterpillar and Komatsu believe that there is a market for rental of these machines and the
respective rental operations, Slevmi and Relmat, both bought significant quantities of 7.0 tonne
crawler excavators in 1999. In 2000 and 2001 others followed them, and they became at least
theoretically widely available for users. That does not mean, however, that they are guaranteed a
place in the market in the long term. Rental companies are in business to cover the cost of the
machine with fees over four to five years of use and to make a good profit by reselling the units
at the end of that period. By early 2003 it is too soon to say if the new machines are making
money and certainly it is completely unknown what will happen when five year old machines are
offered to used construction equipment buyers.
The ‘seven tonne mini’ market has grown from 100 units to 400 units in a year. Much less
attention has been paid to the 8.0 to 12.0 tonne sector, although three leading suppliers, Komatsu,
Liebherr and Volvo have machines.
The next centre of gravity is a product familiar from the distant past, the 13 tonne crawler.
Crawler excavators from 12.0 to 16.0 tonnes are no great novelty. This is quite a popular size
in Korea and in some European markets, and so the machines are there, available from many
suppliers but not making a big success in France before 2000. The superior performances
available in the latest machines have persuaded some buyers to trade down. The size of the 12.0
to 16.0 tonne sector this sector doubled between 1996 and 2000 but it has not increased its share
of the total business by very much since then, only from 16 to 18 per cent. 13.0 tonne types have
advanced, 15.0 tonne models have retreated
16.0 to 19.0 tonnes has always been a very popular size but has declined since 2000. Two
groups have left off using them. One has traded up to machines around 19.5 tonnes, for the sake
of more output and digging force, but without changing the low loader on which they take the
excavator to the job site. The tendency to incorporate extra pumps and use long crawlers has
also made the replacement models somewhat heavier, such as has happened with two important
models from Case and Liebherr. Another group is the owners of yesterday’s 17.0 tonne machine,
persuaded that better performance in smaller excavators makes it logical to replace it with
today’s 15.0 tonne model.
21.0 to 24.0 tonnes is now the single most popular size for public works machines. The huge
amount sold in 1999-2001, more than four times the rate of 1997, came partly from energetic
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used equipment trading, and although the work available increased, the improvement was not
dramatic. 2000, on the other hand, was a bonanza year for public works and encouraged even
more purchasing of this basic earthmoving tool. Sales remained strong into 2002, even if the
number of units sold declined in line with the market.
Civil engineering applications, such as the TGV line to Marseille, have sustained the market for
machines from 24.0 to 50.0 tonnes in recent times. The most popular are machines of 25.0 and
30.0 tonnes, selling particularly well in 2001-2002. In larger machines the rise in sales in 1999
to 2001 can be attributed to deferred purchasing. The market for excavators from 35.0 to
50.0 tonnes fell below 50 units per year in the middle of the 1990s, so by 1998 there was a real
shortage of these powerful machines and building materials producers needed new production
resources. The cement industry, the quarries and the gravel pits became good customers for a
while.
Above the 50.0 tonne mark, the demand comes mostly from quarries.
The statistics show a
regular pattern of replacement. When times are hard, it reaches down to 30 units in a year.
When matters improve, it rises to 55 units, since the number of quarries does not vary much over
time and, whilst the work in driving the TVG line through the hills of Provence brought a few
sales there are almost no projects of that scale existing today.
Design Trends
The hydraulic excavator, representing a market of 20,000 to 27,000 machines per year in Europe,
is the target of great interest in the aspect of product design. The French market exhibits many of
the points which are interesting to manufacturers at the present time.
Among the small machines there is interest in the commercial potential of the seven tonne
excavators. In their favour they can use a standard light low loader or trailer to move them from
site to site and can cross a road without damage if they are equipped with rubber tracks, as is the
style in Japan. Equipped with electronic controls, they are usually easy to learn to operate, more
so than backhoe loaders.
Small machines can make themselves better accepted by being able to work in tight corners,
which explains the ongoing success of the wheeled Mecalac, of course. Other devices that are
appearing are booms that pivot on a mounting rather than being fixed to the frame at the side of
the cab; and double parallel booms with offset mounting.
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The seven tonne excavators are claimed to be part of a general phenomenon of trading down in
terms of size.
Users report that they are being paid less and less for a fixed amount of
earthmoving as time goes by. They must seek lower operating costs and can no longer use an
oversize machine. The weights of the machines used are probably reducing and will continue to
do so.
Some manufacturers are able to offer ultra-narrow machines where the counterweight rotates
within the width of the tracks. In France this feature has been available on standard size crawler
excavators up to 24.0 tonnes from Kobelco since 2000 and from Komatsu since 2001 at 13.0 and
23.0 tonnes. Kobelco was absent from the market for many years and decided to re-enter the
market with a Unique Selling Point, which is the SR design, an ultra narrow machine available in
sizes up to 22.0 tonnes. The concept has a big cost disadvantage, around 25 per cent when
compared to machines of orthodox design. Kobelco made good progress but possibly its choice
of dealers helped as much as its product design. Most other suppliers doubted that the idea
would influence the market for compact excavators. In the French market it may well be held
back somewhat by the Mecalac offering the ability to work in the same narrow space and France
may be behind other markets for this reason.
One aspect that is taking the attention of designers at present is road speed. To a large extent the
providers of wheeled excavators have simply lived with the fact that their machines went slower
than backhoe loaders but increasingly the clients are looking for better travel speeds. Wheeled
excavators are increasingly able to travel over 20 km/hour but the equipment for braking, lighting
and steering has to be uprated to road vehicle standard, which adds cost.
The bigger
consideration, however, is the heat generated and the need for a larger, more expensive engine.
Neither the larger heat exchanger nor the bigger engine is actually needed to operate the
machine.
Road travel for heavy construction equipment is becoming harder.
Local authorities are
reportedly making the certificates for heavy transport harder to obtain and consequently some
suppliers see a likely trend to using smaller machines, located in one region and never travelling
across the country. In general, a 20.0 tonne crawler excavator and its associated trailer can pass
anywhere but that is the maximum for movement without difficulty.
PRODUCTION
France accounts for 17 per cent of European hydraulic excavator production.
The total
production level has stagnated during the second half of the 1990s and only in 2000 did it exceed
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the level seen at the beginning of the decade. The production level fell in 2002 because of the
state of the European market; the closure of production at Furukawa; and the running down of
crawler excavator production by Case.
Table 8. France: Production of Hydraulic Excavators by
Manufacturer and Type, 1998-2002
(Units)
Manufacturer
Liebherr
Caterpillar
CNH
Mecalac
Furukawa
Grand Total
Type
Crawler
Crawler
Wheeled
Crawler
1998
1,150
880
970
880
1999
1,450
1,000
930
600
2000
1,630
1,300
900
550
2001
1,500
1,250
980
380
2002
1,330
1,100
805
110
Total
1,850
2,000
1,450
1,360
915
Wheeled
Wheeled
Crawler
400
170
180
420
170
190
592
190
200
650
150
150
540
-
Total
350
360
390
300
-
Wheeled
Crawler
1,540
3,090
1,510
3,240
1,682
3,680
1,780
3,280
1,345
2,540
Total
4,630
4,750
5,362
5,060
3,885
Source: Off-Highway Research
Liebherr in Colmar has been the largest producer in France since 2001. The plant is part of the
production system for the Swiss family company in respect of its earthmoving machinery.
Colmar produces all the crawler excavators above 20.0 tonnes and employs 1,300 people. In
normal times 30 per cent of its production goes for sale in Germany and it is the state of the
German market that brought the production level down in 2001 and 2002.
The product line has recently been divided into two management units. Standard excavators run
from 18.0 to 85.0 tonnes and are sold about 85 per cent in Western Europe. Excavators of
100.0 tonnes and more are now classified as mining products, to be linked with the growing line
of rigid dump trucks built in the USA. To emphasise the difference the mining excavators sport
a standard bodywork colour of white, as do the rigid dump trucks. Production volumes in the
mining product area are small but the company continues to introduce new products. In late
2002 it launched the R994B Litronic at 300.0 tonnes’ service weight and phased out production
of the R992.
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In the standard contractors’ machines the range from 25.0 to 45.0 tonnes has been updated to ‘B’
versions since the last report, incorporating low-emissions engines and improvements to the
hydraulic circuit performance, as well as bodywork with a more curved cab.
Caterpillar has been producing compact hydraulic excavators at its plant in Grenoble since
1992. The excavators were inspired by the Japanese style of very compact midi, designed by
Japanese staff but engineered for the European market. The range was extended with the
addition of the 19.5 tonne 318B in 1999, so the production is now divided between four different
basic models. In 2002 the European dealers launched the first of the ‘C’ series products to be
built in Grenoble, the model 312C. The cab is the main change, with a new design for the
controls. The machine incorporates an uprated hydraulic flow for attachments and an optional
Tool Control Pro electronic control system allowing the flow and pressure settings for up to five
different attachments to be pre-set on a console in the cab.
The plant features a very high level of investment and pursues the usual Caterpillar policy of
making parts for itself and selling some of its output to other Cat facilities. The most impressive
installation is a machining centre capable of making in immediate succession the frames for
either a compact crawler excavator or a crawler loader.
The assembly line for hydraulic
excavators was completely renewed in 1997 and in 2000/2001 output was 60 per cent higher than
before.
CNH has preserved the hydraulic excavator production facility at Crépy-en-Valois,
40 kilometres to the north-east of Paris since the merger. The plant was revolutionised by Case
and has extremely advanced management system and production machinery. In the context of
the 2000 review of CNH production capacity, the facility in France was bound to be part of the
review, since the company had three plants building hydraulic excavators in Europe but the
consolidation of three into two did not happen, although the behind-the-scenes discussions over
the French plant seemed at one stage to point to its closure. Crawler excavator production has
dwindled at Crépy and is more or less restricted to the models 988 and 1188, destined for the
French market. Most crawler excavators sold by Case in Europe (and elsewhere) come from
Sumitomo in Japan. Two models of midi excavators come from Italy, not from the French plant
but the good news is the recent launch of the WX series models from to replace progressively the
ageing 88 series of wheeled excavators.
25 to 30 per cent of the units go into Customer Applications, a special facility to the side of the
end of the production line, where special versions are made. They are for metal and wood
handling, demolition and even mounting on barges or pylons. There are rail/road versions of the
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788 and 988 models and an industrial version of the 1188. The company also manufactures a
quick coupler for the 88 series; and brands another system for the 90 series, excavators made in
Japan by Sumitomo. Both the couplers are designs by Miller of the UK.
Mecalac is the brand name of a unique multi-purpose machine which combines the functions of
an excavator, loader and tool carrier. A wide range of attachments and a quick-coupling system
increase the machine's versatility and operating capacity. It is conceived for working in narrow
spaces and in various ground conditions. It can dig and then load the spoil into a truck waiting
180º degrees behind itself, a feat which a backhoe loader cannot execute at all.
The inventor, M. Pingon, launched it in 1980 and opened a plant in Annecy, near the Alps, to
assemble the machine, which at that time was only a basic 8.0 tonne version. In the 1990s he
added further versions. The Annecy plant has a covered area of 5,800 m2 on a site of 20,000 m2
and employs 125 people; a component plant described in the next section employs a further 50.
The ownership of Mecalac has changed several times during the life of the company. In 1995
Volvo purchased it when it bought Groupe Pel-Job. Mecalac aligned its marketing to an extent
with that of Volvo in the ensuing years but in the end Volvo came to the conclusion that as a
product it did not offer the potential for marketing all over the world which it was seeking from
its creations or acquisitions. In 1999 it sold Mecalac back to it former owner, Henri Marchetta.
In 2002 the company reorganised its product line as the Tier II engines became necessary. The
small 10MX became known as the 10MSX. It is powered by a quiet Cummins engine, and has
the option of the EasyDrive system, an aid to simplified operation, allowing a single control for
trenching and keeping the excavating and loading buckets level wherever they are in their
working cycles. It has sold well.
The nine tonne 12MX model has disappeared in favour of a model of the same size but
employing the same Cummins engine as the 10MX. The turbocharged 12MXT continues as
before and the range is topped with the 13.0 tonne 14MXT. This has a second gearbox for road
travel and a newer control system.
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The Mecalac Group acquired a controlling interest in Ahlmann, the German wheeled loader
manufacturer, from Manitou in April 2002. The Group now comprises:

Mecalac in Annecy, France

Hydromo, making components 20 km away in Albens

Framateq Paris, the dealer for that region

Ahlmann Baumaschinen (74 per cent owned)

Ahlmann Duisburg, Germany (a dealership for the two companies in the Ruhr)

Ghezzi, the Mecalac dealer for northern Italy.
The turnover in 2001 was €61 million, or €99 million including Ahlmann. The group employs
410 people.
From 1995 to 1999 Mecalac production stood still or even slightly declined, for instance in terms
of its share of European wheeled excavator output. The company is determined to rectify that
and will finance new product development which was suspended during the Volvo years,
according to the company.
The market share in Europe has progressed from 4/5 per cent to seven per cent and the earnings
have partly been put into new product development. New creations ready for launch in the near
future will still keep the company in its area of compact earthmovers and will confront the
hydraulic excavator competitors more directly. A 14 tonne machine on tracks and wheels is the
first of several projects. The aim is to keep the product range ahead of the competition, which
greatly admires the basic concept of the machine, for which there is no imitator at present. The
trading down to smaller machines which the industry expects in the coming years should favour
the company and efforts to improve its sales performance in southern Europe should bring results
to help finance the ongoing development.
Furukawa ceased building wheeled and crawler excavators in its plant at Genas, near Lyon at
the end of 2001. In 1989 Furukawa of Japan bought the European construction equipment
activities of Dresser of the USA. It has now been liquidated and the owners have founded a
company called Furukawa Services for the support of customers and the supply of spare parts
from the depots in Heidelberg and Genas. The last products were up to date European machines
but they lacked success in creating volumes. The final blow was when the European market
flourished and it had a chance to sell more machines in 2000. Quite simply, it found itself at the
end of the queue for vital pieces supplied by outsiders and could not produce more than 390
machines in the year.
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COMPONENT SOURCING
Since the publication of the last study all the manufacturers have introduced new models and
updated their ranges. Component suppliers have changed considerably, so that engine supply has
become dominated by Cummins in all companies except Caterpillar; and Siac, the Italian cab
manufacturer, has been particularly triumphant.
Table 9. France: Component Sourcing for Hydraulic Excavators, 2003
Engine
Hydraulic Pumps
Hydraulic Motors
Transmission
Control Valves
Cylinders
Axles
Cabs
Undercarriage
Tracks
Buckets
Tyres
Caterpillar
Mitsubishi, Perkins
Kawasaki
Rexroth
Rexroth
Caterpillar Joliet
Caterpillar Jesi
TIM
In-house
Caterpillar
In-house
-
CNH
Case
Rexroth
Rexroth
Carraro
Rexroth, Marrel
Case Tracy
Carraro
Case Croix
In-house
Mitas, Michelin
Liebherr
Liebherr, Cummins, MTU
Liebherr, Linde, Rexroth
Linde, Rexroth
Liebherr
Rexroth
Liebherr Kirchdorf
Siac
In-house
Intertractor/Berco
In-house
-
Mecalac
Cummins
Rexroth
Rexroth
Rexroth
Hydromo
Hydromo
Dana
Siac
In-house
Mitas
Source: Company Information
Caterpillar makes as much as possible of its components. The Grenoble plant, for instance, has
a famous machine tool which makes every single track pin used in any Caterpillar machine in the
world. The volume from the final assembly processes would not justify its use but the adding of
the entire corporation’s needs together creates a very attractive volume and one which merits the
use of the latest, most cost-effective technology.
The sourcing pattern for the hydraulic excavators is influenced by the fact that the products are
designed in Japan. The small model 307B has an engine from Mitsubishi Motors and the 318B
from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, while the pumps which they drive are from Kawasaki.
Perkins engines are in the rest of the range made at Grenoble and Rexroth supplies both the
motors and the gearboxes.
The component list shows a high proportion of the machine coming from various Caterpillar
plants around Europe and the rest of the world. The sticks come from the Caterpillar facility at
Tosno, near St. Petersburg, Russia, adding yet another Cat facility to the list of suppliers.
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CNH uses two company plants in France which supply components. The Croix plant supplies
cabs, while the plant at Tracy-le-Mont makes cylinders and swivel joints. The plant fabricates
the chassis and frames, as well as the upperworks for all types of machines. The new wheeled
excavators have gearboxes and axles supplied from Carraro of Italy, as before.
Liebherr has a similar attitude, even if its production volumes are much smaller. It uses its own
Swiss-built engines in all sizes from 100 to 400 horsepower and incorporates elements such as its
own power splitters into the hydraulic circuits, even if the main elements such as the motors are
from Rexroth and others. The Colmar plant is a full manufacturing facility and one acquisition
recently has been a 1,000 tonne LVD press for making a wide variety of fabricated pieces from
the steel plate cut at the beginning of the production process.
Mecalac uses a component manufacturing plant of its own called Hydromo at Albens, 20 km
away from the assembly plant. It makes cylinders, swivel joints and fabrications. The Cummins
engines drive a Rexroth pump and motor assembly, with the very complex distributor block at
the heart of the hydraulic system being supplied by Hydromo. The rest of the major suppliers are
noted above.
FOREIGN TRADE
Table 10. France: Exports of Hydraulic Excavators by Manufacturer, 1998-2002
(Units; % of Production)
Liebherr
Caterpillar
Case
Mecalac
Furukawa
1998
Units
975
720
1,350
140
280
%
85
82
73
35
80
1999
Units
1,220
760
1,350
110
260
%
84
76
68
26
72
2000
Units
1,380
1,180
750
140
320
%
85
91
52
24
82
2001
Units
1,220
1,100
760
190
235
%
81
88
56
29
78
2002
Units
1,105
1,000
530
190
-
%
83
91
68
35
-
Total
3,465
72
3,700
70
3,770
70
3,505
69
2,825
72
Source: Off-Highway Research
Exports are very important to all suppliers but the proportion of production sent to other
countries has fallen during the 1990s.
At the end of the period the home market was
extraordinarily good and so took a large share of the available production but there are other
reasons.
A deteriorating performance by Liebherr’s crawler excavators, Furukawa and the
Mecalac in the rest of Europe all contributed to the change.
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Liebherr is now the leading exporter. It is in a similar position to Caterpillar, supplying part of
its crawler excavator range from the plant in France. In this case Liebherr-France supplies twothirds or more of all needs and all of the mining excavators. The volumes shown for Europe,
therefore, are not the whole picture for exports from Colmar.
Table 11. Liebherr: Sales of Crawler Excavators in Europe by Country, 2002
Units
72
18
26
3
270
9
115
35
11
81
45
80
Austria
Belgium
Denmark
Finland
Germany
Ireland
Italy
Netherlands
Portugal
Spain
Switzerland
United Kingdom
Total excl. France
Market
Share
%
10
4
12
1
12
2
3
6
3
8
10
2
765
5
Source: Off-Highway Research
The total volume sold in the rest of Western Europe has dropped by 25 per cent since, purely
because of the German market. German products account for all machines under 20.0 tonnes, so
Colmar probably supplied only about 600, leaving about 600 to be sold in the rest of the world,
50 per cent more than in 2000. Approximately 200 went to North America, where Liebherr has
two per cent market share.
The Caterpillar export effort is more difficult to analyse, as the range made by Caterpillar
France covers only about a quarter to a third of the crawler excavator sector. In broad terms one
can note that Caterpillar’s 300 series is the market leader in crawler excavators in Europe, with a
share of 21 per cent. There are, nevertheless wide variations in performance, so that in 2002
Italy was the best, with 33 per cent while the UK, Finland and the Netherlands were the worst,
with 13 per cent. Nearly 90 per cent of production at Grenoble is exported every year and the
hydraulic excavators are nearly all bound for markets in Europe.
CNH has suffered a major fall in export volume sent out by the French plant. It has ceased
exporting crawler excavators and its range of wheeled excavators was not renewed until late in
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2002. Case has now filled most of the gaps in its product range by marketing crawler excavators
from Sumitomo of Japan. The Case market share picture is summarised below.
Table 12. Case: Sales of Wheeled Excavators in Europe by Country, 2002
Units
7
22
10
4
61
14
31
17
5
6
147
4
19
98
Austria
Belgium
Denmark
Finland
Germany
Ireland
Italy
Netherlands
Norway
Portugal
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom
Total excl. France
Market
Share
%
4
11
31
5
3
29
5
3
5
13
18
2
8
25
445
8
Source: Off-Highway Research
Case is in sixth place in these markets as a whole, a position which will surely improve when the
new range is available. The best markets are, as before, Spain and the UK, both served by
company subsidiaries.
Table 13. Mecalac: Sales in Europe by Country, 2002
Belgium & Luxembourg
Germany
Italy
Netherlands
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Total excl. France
Units
13
31
30
8
6
1
13
Market
Share
%
7
1
5
1
1
1
5
102
2
Source: Off-Highway Research
Finally, to Mecalac. This product is in a class of its own, as far as marketing is concerned. It
has won its place by heavy promotion and by demonstration. Only in France are there sufficient
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machines on the ground to allow potential customers to see others using it.
The export
percentage fell from 80 per cent to below 25 per cent in the 1990s, showing the effect of
neglecting the promotion aspect. Since the change of ownership, the export ratio has turned
upwards and is now over one third.
MARKET SHARES
Table 14. France: Major Suppliers of Hydraulic Excavators and
Their Market Shares, 1998-2002
(Per Cent)
Case
Caterpillar
Liebherr
Mecalac
Komatsu
Fiat-Hitachi
Volvo
JCB
Others
Total
1998
18
17
18
9
12
8
1
7
10
1999
16
17
17
8
11
8
2
6
15
2000
16
16
16
9
11
8
4
6
14
2001
17
17
17
9
7
7
6
6
13
2002
19
16
16
9
9
7
6
5
13
100
100
100
100
100
Source: Off-Highway Research
In 1999 and 2000 Caterpillar took first position in the market away from Liebherr, which was
slow to react to the better market. Liebherr recovered by 2001 because of its strong performance
in wheeled excavators and then promptly lost all the ground gained in 2002. Conversely, Case
suffered a serious loss of share because of its performance in that sector, descending to only
16 per cent in 1999 and 2000 but climbing back up again in 2002. One Korean manufacturer,
Daewoo, reached the threshold level of five per cent market share in 1999 but faded again in
2002, at the same time as Volvo made a strong start with its Korean machines.
Wheeled Excavators
With four out of every ten excavators being sold on a wheeled chassis and a strong interest in
small, general purpose machines still evident, it is necessary for any manufacturer who wishes to
play a full part in the market to have a complete range of products. This secures the interest of an
effective dealer network, when such dealers are very hard to find. Some of the minor marques
have only a few strong dealers and thus end up with a national market share that is far below
what they would like to have.
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Table 15. France: Suppliers of Wheeled Excavators and Their Market Shares, 1998-2002
Mecalac
Case
Liebherr
Caterpillar
Komatsu
Fiat-Hitachi
JCB
Daewoo
Volvo
Furukawa
Terex Atlas
Hyundai
O&K
Others*
1998
Units
256
286
264
138
82
59
62
36
8
34
17
16
7
Total
1,265
1999
Units
310
325
318
129
112
75
71
52
23
43
25
14
22
11
%
20
23
21
11
6
5
5
3
1
3
1
1
1
100
1,530
2000
Units
450
380
375
191
165
60
73
81
20
47
30
36
20
12
%
20
21
21
8
7
5
5
3
2
3
2
1
1
1
100
1,940
%
23
20
19
10
9
3
4
4
1
2
2
1
1
1
100
2001
Units
464
305
409
177
60
101
71
65
44
30
30
18
16
10
1,800
%
26
17
23
10
3
6
4
4
2
2
2
1
1
1
100
2002
Units
370
320
294
178
87
68
52
36
35
20
15
13
12
1,500
%
25
21
20
12
6
5
3
2
2
1
1
1
1
100
*Others include Samsung and Schaeff
Source: Off-Highway Research
During the 1990s the multipurpose Mecalac won many converts, keeping its market share above
20 per cent in most years. Case pursued a conservative pricing policy to a more one but
remained the best seller in conventionally designed machines, while Liebherr widened its range
and defended its corner of the market. Caterpillar, previously unknown as a supplier of wheeled
excavators, took the chance to use the commercial power of its dealer, Bergerat Monnoyeur, to
good effect but found the limit of its power to be lower than expected. The minor manufacturers
now offer a wide variety of different machines and in future buyers will consider more possible
suppliers than they did in the past.
Mecalac did extremely well in 2001 and 2002. One explanation lies in the usefulness of the
machines in working in already built streets to help install tramways. Whilst the design has great
advantages in not occupying much road space when working in the middle of the street in Lyon,
Toulouse or Bordeaux, not every city is installing a tramway. Sales of the Mecalac are not
confined to that eye-catching application. The product has been endowed with a more modern
bodywork and quiet engine. It has made a lot of sales in replacements of machines bought in the
early and middle 1990s but has also increased the number of users by more than 100 per cent
since 1995.
Case has continued to offer simple, reliable machines at very competitive prices. Since the early
1990s it has aimed at better profit margins on each unit sold. Competitors have shown an
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increased interest in taking sales away from the former monopolist. Case’s market share has
come down to a level that is more to be expected in an open market, characteristic of the Europe
of today.
Liebherr has kept its relatively high and stable share of the market. It has no part of the
agricultural handling business that in part sustains Case and lives off small contractors. The
product is considered by them to be a desirable tool, although it is expensive.
Liebherr
marketing has hardly changed in this sector in ten years. Lack of change means a steady
presence that makes the product easy to resell at a high price. Liebherr dealers are very efficient
at used machinery marketing and machines are quickly resold in France or Germany.
Caterpillar increased market share until 1998 but there still seems to be a degree of difficulty for
French buyers in accepting Caterpillar as the best supplier for an everyday machine such as a
13.0 or 15.0 tonne wheeled excavator for repairing broken sewer pipes.
Komatsu built up its market share in compact and standard wheeled excavators from 1997
onwards from almost nothing but in 2001 hit difficulties with over valued used machinery and
with financial fragility of some of its dealers. It installed a number of wheeled excavators in its
Relmat rental fleet in 1999 and 2000 but the return on investment was not encouraging and
Relmat has been redirected towards its traditional market area of compaction equipment.
Fiat-Hitachi has been steady but far from as impressive as it is in the crawler excavators. The
dealer network has grown but, like many others, Fiat-Hitachi has difficulty in being accepted for
its wheeled machines. For the period up to the end of 2002 its inspiration in product conception
was Hitachi, a company whose homeland is not one which accepts the wheeled excavator very
much. In future it will sell its machines under the Fiat Kobelco name.
JCB is similarly affected. Having begun to sell wheeled excavators in France only in 1994, it is
working its way into the affections of French buyers. Fortunately for it, the brand is well known
among users of medium-sized construction equipment and it has progressed from 40 machines
per year to reach over 70 sales in 2000 and 2001.
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Crawler Excavators
Table 16. France: Suppliers of Crawler Excavators and Their Market Shares, 1998-2002
Caterpillar
Case
Liebherr
Komatsu
Fiat-Hitachi
Volvo
JCB
Daewoo
Hyundai
Furukawa
Kobelco
Yanmar
O&K
Others*
1998
Units
340
242
264
250
173
18
130
57
51
37
12
26
Total
1,600
%
21
15
17
16
11
1
8
4
3
2
1
1
100
1999
Units
542
330
347
329
262
47
186
157
88
57
28
29
23
45
2,470
2000
Units
630
421
425
398
329
179
223
226
73
71
97
64
23
1
%
22
13
14
13
11
2
8
6
4
2
1
1
1
2
100
3,160
%
20
13
13
13
10
6
7
7
2
2
3
2
1
-
100
2001
Units
676
580
485
322
280
240
233
215
65
65
95
59
27
15
3,355
%
20
17
14
10
8
7
7
6
2
2
3
2
1
-
100
2002
Units
483
445
345
269
215
209
152
112
60
104
91
12
103
2,600
%
19
17
13
10
8
8
6
4
2
4
4
4
100
*Others include Kato, Neuson, Kubota, Samsung and Schaeff
Source: Off-Highway Research
Caterpillar has been the market leader since 1993. Its 300 series is now into its third generation
with the ‘C’ series in some models. The small machines up to 19.0 tonnes are made in France,
the rest supplied from the plant in Belgium. It has lost some market share since the last report,
mainly because some significant competitors have been better organised, and not because of any
shortcomings in its products or the dealer, which offers the best after sales support in the
industry.
Case has done much better since the time of the last report. In 2000 to 2002 it launched the
Sumitomo models progressively, so that by the beginning of 2003 it had 13 different models
(including some ultra-narrow designs), as opposed to six in 1998. In 2001 and 2002 it showed
that it was regaining the confidence of professional earthmoving people in its larger machines
and increased its market share to 17 per cent.
Liebherr has not performed up to its full potential since 1996. Given the high quality of its
network, including the branches, the integrity of its product and the fact that much of the range is
made in France, one would expect the market share to be around 20 per cent in 2002, not the 13
to 14 per cent actually achieved. In the short term it has committed yet again the error of not
increasing production sufficiently when the market went well. One also has to question if the
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company is not isolating itself as the producer of large machines for civil engineers needing 24 to
33 tonne mass excavation tools, when the liveliest part of the market lies in the under 19 tonne
sizes, where Liebherr has only a minor production in Germany.
Komatsu has already been mentioned as having undergone major difficulties in 2001. These
affected the performance in the crawler excavator area, although the company still held onto
10 per cent of the market in 2001 and 2002.
Fiat-Hitachi managed to take full advantage of the growth in 1999 by selling more than 250 of
its new EX range from Italy but since then its share of the business has weakened, with some
uncertainty being present after the announcement of the formation of Fiat Kobelco in April 2001.
Volvo relaunched its excavators in France in 2000, reorganising its dealer network to give full
commitment to the excavators, for which it would like to win a ten per cent share of the market
in the near future. The new line-up is mostly of Korean products and offers six models from 15.0
to 48.0 tonnes, with a seventh model at 16.0 tonnes being added in early 2003.
The other Korean manufacturers are relative newcomers to the market. They had difficulty
establishing themselves and the task of achieving a full dealer network covering all six corners of
the country has proved to be a huge challenge for them. Samsung arrived in 1992, Daewoo in
1993 and Hyundai in 1994. Daewoo has proved to be far better than Hyundai at recruiting
dealers who can win customers but hit difficulties in 2002.
Concealed among the suppliers credited with apparently small shares of the overall market are
manufacturers of 7.5 tonne midi crawler excavators. Yanmar’s sales in 2002 give its ViO 75
model about 25 per cent of the sector; Neuson has its 8002 winning 17 per cent; while
Caterpillar, Kobelco, Komatsu and Kubota each score just under 10 per cent of this growing
market.
MARKETING AND DISTRIBUTION
Dealer networks are looking for customers for new machines but primarily they exist for the
servicing of the needs of regular operators of machines which are kept for up to 8 years. A
national presence implies a network of about 25 points as a minimum. Most suppliers maintain a
single national parts stock in France, although Bergerat Monnoyeur keeps stock at its 14 regional
branches.
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Table 17. France: Distribution Systems of Hydraulic Excavator Suppliers, 2003
Company
Subsidiary
No
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Independent
Importer
No
No
Yes
No
No
Number of
Branches
14
1
Hitachi
Hydrema
Hyundai
JCB
Kato
Kobelco
Komatsu
Liebherr
Mecalac
O&K
Takeuchi
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
No
1
5
4
1
1
Independent
Dealers or Agents
4
22
22
20
(28 for Compact Line)
14
7
34
9
13
14
9
14
16
Volvo
Yanmar
Yes
No
No
Yes
4
9
26
Manufacturer
Atlas-Terex
Case
Caterpillar
Daewoo
Fiat Kobelco
Depots
4
41
50
30
21
7
34
12
20
25
28
14
17
36
32
Source: Company Information
Atlas-Terex has a regional sales manager developing a wider network, which covers the
north-east, the Paris region and the north. In the Paris region Payen sells its wheeled excavators,
for example, alongside the small wheeled loaders. Payen is the national importer for Kawasaki
and Atlas wheeled loaders, as well as working as a regional dealer for lines such as Fiat Kobelco,
Lebrero compaction equipment and Neuson mini excavators.
Case has one of the best dealer networks in the industry. In the 1990s Case progressively
disengaged from owning branches, creating a totally independent network to cover the
construction equipment market in France.
Since 1995 nine branches have been transferred or
closed. In a few cases, such as Bordeaux, the establishment has been sold to its management but
the capital requirement has been a barrier to the wholesale transfer of the branches to the
employees.
Caterpillar has worked with Bergerat Monnoyeur for over 60 years. The branch network can
reasonably be described as superb. Each of the 14 regional offices, which are major service
centres for important market areas, has a director with three or four salesmen and a similar
number of servicemen. Within the regions are 36 satellite workshops, which are responsible only
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for service and the supply of spare parts. They offer a full service capability for competitive
makes and are not justifying their existence purely by their work on Caterpillar machinery.
Daewoo changed the structure of its representation in 1999. Euro Daewoo, the manufacturing
and sales subsidiary of DHI&M, has founded a company in France to take over responsibility for
France from Daewoo Automobile. The new dealer network consists of 22 dealers covering most
of France except for Burgundy and the south-west. The company also has no great presence in
the Ile-de-France region surrounding Paris, although it does try to sell directly to rental
companies.
Fiat Kobelco has inherited most of the network built up in the 1990s by Fiat-Hitachi.
Fiat-Hitachi undertook many changes in the early 1990s to create a network suitable for selling
hydraulic excavators and then in 1996 it created a Compact Line, which includes hydraulic
excavators up to 15.0 tonnes’ service weight. There are now 20 Compact Line dealers (plus the
CNH Paris branch), while 19 dealers and Fiat Kobelco Paris sell Fiat Kobelco Heavy Line
products, including the hydraulic excavators.
Hitachi has a major task to build up a network in France. A small branch of the operation in the
Netherlands has been recruiting dealers since the summer of 2002 and in February 2003 it
revealed during its launch of the Dutch factory that 14 dealers had been signed up. It needs at
least 20, to assert itself as a major supplier and may well achieve that by the end of summer
2003. It has a solid reputation for its excavator technology but dealers cannot live from that
alone. The wheeled loaders to be made in France need to be rapidly accepted and the mini
excavators must achieve a good position in the competitive world of rental.
JCB has benefited from having a powerful and stable dealer network. The dealers are nearly all
independent but JCB controls the marketing in the Ile-de-France region itself from two retail
branches, north and south of Paris, and owns the dealership in Lyon.
In six of the territories JCB has appointed sub-dealers, primarily for parts and service. They are
there to catch a maximum of small owner-drivers where they are remote from the main dealer.
The main dealer in such cases usually handles sales.
The large presence at Sarcelles, the headquarters of JCB France near Paris, is a major asset to the
sales effort. On the site JCB has built its European Training School and put it into a unit called
JCB Euro Services, where they can even send drivers there for training if they wish. Similarly
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the dealers benefit from a stock of parts kept there, which gives 92 per cent availability within
24 hours. Dealers now have to keep a permanent stock of 200 fast moving items.
Komatsu has suffered the most publicised difficulties of all in trying to build and maintain its
presence in France. Its efforts to build a new network based on the totally revamped company at
Aubergenville, near Paris, have been frustrated by the financial weakness of its dealers, which
have disappeared regularly.
The efforts to build a new network have been frustrated by the financial weakness of its dealers,
which have disappeared regularly. Faced with this problem, the company cannot build entire
new branches, this being a costly option abandoned in the past by competitors. Equally, it finds
the task of recruiting good quality dealers very difficult. The solution upon which it decided was
to accept to build agencies in Marseille and Lyon and to cover five other areas of the country for
itself, including using the headquarters as the home for agencies for the Ile-de-France and the
Loire Valley.
It tried to use the branches of its rental company, Relmat to provide service
facilities for customers but this proved very expensive and is not much used.
Liebherr has an exceptionally stable dealer network, displaying no change in the last ten years.
The branches in Colmar (Alsace), Paris, Marseille and Bordeaux continue to play a major role in
the selling of construction equipment. Whilst this was considered a weakness at one time, the
diminishing role of the independent dealer and the entry of rental upon the scene in standard
hydraulic excavators make the branches appear much more of an asset today.
The rental
company which started in 2001 will certainly find the branches indispensable.
Mecalac has only nine dealers in the whole country, many of them under the name of Framateq.
Framateq has always been the seller of most of the Mecalac units in France, having been created
by M. Lecluse, the commercial partner of M. Pingon, the inventor of the machine, since the
earliest days. Framateq has been a very expansive company and its various branches around the
country hold many different construction equipment franchises. Mecalac has never been a
problem to other suppliers - there is no direct competition to the Mecalac idea. For a period
Volvo owned it but all the units have been sold off, which includes Framateq Paris, which has
been sold to the Mecalac Group.
Volvo has a sales subsidiary near Paris to market all Volvo group construction equipment
products, with a sales office of its own for the region.
Since the last report Volvo has
reorganised its network in view of the decision to attack the volume excavator market. Some
dealers have been dropped and others changed ownership and commercial policy. One of them,
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Payant, was selling Fiat-Hitachi hydraulic excavators and Volvo products. It separated the two
franchises with the Volvo activities being based in Lyon and the Fiat-Hitachi franchise
elsewhere. For large excavators nine large territories cover France entirely but one is a group,
with two companies and four branches and seven of the others have multiple branches.
PRICING
Low inflation was the norm in the second half of the 1990s and excavator prices did not move in
five years. Since then a mild amount of price increase has been achieved, perhaps two per cent
in three years. Some suppliers dispute this because they claim that certain suppliers have offered
low prices to buy themselves into the market and would analyse the position as unchanged on
balance. What is not in contention is that the cost increases associated with the installation of
Tier II engines have not been passed onto the customers, to whom the reduction in emissions are
frankly of no interest whatsoever. The customer has more for his money when specification
improves but the Tier II engines are not seen as an improvement at all.
Table 18. France: Average Transaction Prices of Hydraulic Excavators, 2003
(€’000)
Type
Wheeled
Crawler
Service Weight
(tonnes)
11-13
13-15
15-18
20
2000
76-84
84-100
100-115
115-130
2003
78-86
86-102
102-117
117-132
16-19
19-25
25-35
79-88
84-91
107-115
81-90
86-93
109-117
Source: Off-Highway Research
Any supplier, however powerful, has to consider the real value of the trade-in machine, as well as
the value that his customer believes it merits. On the other hand, one cannot assume that every
deal implies a user going to a dealer with the keys to an old hydraulic excavator in his hand.
Contractors do like to trade in the larger machines, but at the same time those owners are the
prime source of material for the used construction equipment specialists, who pester them
continually to find stock. Just over half of large excavators are destined to go back to the seller
of the original machine, and most of the rest goes to specialised used construction equipment
dealers. These used construction equipment dealers have certain prejudices, in favour of the
machines which they believe have international potential and give them a wider market.
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Rental companies increasingly favour buy back contracts from the manufacturer, with a usage
period of one to two years. The manufacturer then has to resell the machinery, and it is usually
routed to a broker or a used construction equipment specialist. This implies that by 2004 the
used construction equipment trade will be trying to dispose of several hundred midi excavators,
to a group of buyers who have never used them in their lives.
One of the most frequent routes for selling is to place a small advertisement in the mass
circulation “La Centrale du Matériel”, which is available as a magazine and as a website. The
law demands that the sold machine has to be in conformity to the CE machines directive, with
any work being done at the seller’s expense, and the seller has to pay for a certificate to be
prepared to that effect.
On the other hand, there are changes of law which affect long lived machines; so that by the time
they come to be resold they are no longer legal for sale in the European Union. Those machines
are often sold to used construction equipment exporters, who are warned very strictly not to sell
them in Europe.
Dealers in new construction equipment like to resell used machinery that is in good condition,
preferably into their own territory. Notwithstanding the good sense of this, they do not always
have a large enough local market, so they sell to brokers and used construction equipment
specialists. Dealers are open to selling abroad, and exports tend to go at present to Portugal as
the first destination, followed by Spain and then North Africa. Brands like Caterpillar and
Komatsu can go anywhere but Liebherr machines, for example, either stay in France or go,
unsurprisingly, to Germany.
POPULATION AND END-USERS
The size of the excavator population can rise and fall in the medium term, since in busy periods
contractors earn more income from their machines and replace them more quickly. In hard
times, such as at the beginning of the 1990s they keep their machines for much longer and the
population grows, with the oldest machines not being scrapped or exported.
In the last report Off-Highway Research commented that the applications and the degree to
which excavators were used had not changed in the 1990s. The population grew from around
22,000 units to 25,000 units, with most of the growth being at the end of the period. In the last
three years conditions seem to have changed and the population has risen to 32,000 in a very
short time.
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Table 19. France: Population of Hydraulic Excavators by Type of User, 2003
Units
%
Construction
– Civil Engineering
– General
– Housebuilding, Factories, Offices
– Roads
– Landscaping & Water
Industry
Rental companies
Agriculture
Quarries
11,400
6,400
4,800
2,900
2,900
1,300
1,500
500
300
35
20
15
9
9
4
5
2
1
Total
32,000 100
Source: Off-Highway Research
The public works industry has changed from being characterised by large enterprises possessing
impressive fleets of machines to a pattern of the project directing company giving contracts for
earthmoving to others. These are the biggest owners of hydraulic excavators today. Some of
them are specialists in the moving of earth and rock (like Razel, owning 6,000 heavy
earthmovers) but many are small entrepreneurs owning at most five machines and looking for
work in their locality. It is they who have probably been most responsible for the increase in the
number of machines active.
In the north of France some of them find work in the early part of the winter handling beets and
potatoes, hence the population of excavators for agriculture noted above. This is an important
activity for the wheeled excavator sector but the customers are not farmers but rather the
transport companies used by the sugar refineries or excavator owners used by the transport
companies to fill the trucks on the field.
Other significant users of excavators in industrial applications include scrap metal and timber.
The scrap metal trade is fond of the simple wheeled excavator but it does have other methods
such as electric handling arms and overhead travelling cranes. Equally wheeled loaders and
rough terrain lift trucks can handle timber. The industrial applications of excavators have proved
in France to be an interesting niche but a very small one with no great hope of growth.
Rental companies and their role in the population are a source of much debate. There are in
reality very few traditional rental companies involved in standard hydraulic excavators. One
exception in the past was Alsace and Lorraine in the east.
Locarest had a monopoly of
construction equipment rental there until about 1990. It had a fleet of 60 hydraulic excavators,
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mostly on wheels, all Poclain, with 100 drivers for them and other machines. Many of the
excavators were antiques but in that area of France nobody kept spare machines because they all
knew that Locarest had machines ready to help them at any time. Since that time the fleet has
been renewed and reduced but it is well patronised.
In the Paris area CFE, a small private company, tried with some success in the 1990s to introduce
the concept with a mixture of machines from 12.0 to 70.0 tonnes but with no more than a dozen
machines divided between nine sizes. It had two small competitors in Lheureux and Sofrac,
while Bergerat Monnoyeur, the Cat dealer, had a number of Caterpillar excavators. The problem
was that the supply was quickly exhausted, so potential users felt that they could not count on
rental. They bought machines, as they had done before.
Then rental increased in respect of other products and contractors asked themselves why they
could not adopt it as a method of laying hands on equipment when they needed it. The late
1990s witnessed a slow increase of manufacturer to end-user rental deals and rental-with-optionto-purchase. Finance companies like Loxxia would provide the funds to enable a dealer to rent a
new excavator if the customer wanted that type of arrangement. Rental companies with adequate
funds, such as Loxam, began to create fleets of 12 and 20 tonne excavators but not on a scale to
create a complete change from the old pattern of buying, servicing and reselling.
Hertz
purchased in 2000 a company, Loc Energie, which had made a small experiment in 1998 and
1999 with self-drive hydraulic excavators. The manufacturer fleets such as Slevmi (Caterpillar)
and Relmat (Komatsu) began to grow.
Table 20. France: Sales of Hydraulic Excavators by Type of User, 2002
Units
%
Construction
– Civil Engineering
– Housebuilding, Factories, Offices
– Roads
– Landscaping & Water
Rental
Industry
Quarries
1,520
820
820
520
300
80
40
37
20
20
13
7
2
1
Total
4,100
100
Source: Off-Highway Research
The distribution of sales moved away from the traditional pattern in 1999 and 2000. Sales to
rental drove the growth of the 6.0 to 12.0 tonne sector, although it moderated in 2002. There is
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an increasing tendency for the user to ask if he can rent rather than buy a machine. Obviously
dealers will be wary of committing themselves heavily with this type of relationship with the
customer, as it does have drawbacks. He does not truly know what will happen to a machine at
the age of 18 months if he puts it into rental, whereas if he has sold it with the help of a leasing
deal, he knows that the machine will be in the hands of the first buyer, hopefully earning him
enough money to pay the monthly leasing fee. Rental is much more likely to be suitable for
manufacturers’ operations like Relmat, Bergerat Monnoyeur and Liebherr.
FORECAST TO 2007
Table 21. France: Forecast Sales of Hydraulic Excavators, 2003-2007
(Units)
Wheeled
Crawler
2003
1,100
2,000
2004
1,300
2,000
2005
1,500
2,200
2006
1,600
2,400
2007
1,600
2,400
Total
3,100
3,300
3,700
4,000
4,000
Source: Off-Highway Research
The short term prospects for public works are balanced between a small overall growth in 2003
and some contraction, the latter being an interpretation of the new right wing government’s
caution about expenditure.
Local authority spending should rebound and public transport projects, such as those in Bordeaux
and Toulouse should lead the way. The LGV East, the name given to the high speed railway line
east from Paris towards Strasbourg and Germany (first phase estimated at €3,300 million,
opening in 2007) will be the largest project but orders for equipment needed for the awarded
sections have already been given and fulfilled. The new port extension at Le Havre, costing
€640 million in its first phase, will be a second major job implemented during the forecast
period.
The private sector, on the other hand, has exhibited a loss of confidence that is bound to pull
down the value of its contribution. As it fails to invest in new commercial or industrial building,
so it leaves companies that provide power or water to those cancelled projects without work.
Private sector work also includes work provided to subcontractors by others, such as
earthmoving and, after a surge at the end of the 1990s, is set to fall back somewhat.
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The fate of the excavator market also depends on what happens to the greatly expanded
population of nearly new machines. 7,000 units have been added to the total since 1999 and the
number of crawler excavators up to five years old has grown by 30 per cent.
All those
calculations suggest a surplus, with the risk that a small fall in public works activity might
occasion a major stop in buying new plant.
Although suppliers talk of a 15 per cent fall in sales in 2003, it is quite possible that worse than
that may happen. The forecast above is in fact no more than a return to the traditional average
level of sales during 2003 and 2004, with recovery for the wheeled excavators starting earlier, on
the grounds that buying of that type in 2000-2001 was not so much above the norm as with the
crawlers.
In the medium term the market should be pulled up again when owners trade in the 10,200
machines they bought in 2000-2001. Unless they view it as a dreadful mistake and liquidate the
machines to brokers who immediately move them out of the country, sales of new units should
be at the 4,000 unit level by 2006, at the very least.
MACHINES AVAILABLE
The table below shows only the machines available through permanently represented companies.
The service weights are the maximum quoted in respect of each model type.
Table 22. France: Wheeled Excavators Available, 2003
Manufacturer
Case
Caterpillar
Model
WX90
WX120
588
WX150
788
WX170
WX200
1188P4A Industry
HP
72/77
91/102
88
110
103
126
162
153
Engine
Manufacturer
Perkins
Perkins
Case
Case
Case
Case
Case
Case
Service Weight
(tonnes)
9.0
12.0
14.4
15.5
17.0
17.5
19.7
20.8
Product
Source
Italy
Italy
France
France
France
France
France
France
M312
M315
M318
M320
113
114
136
136
Caterpillar
Caterpillar
Caterpillar
Caterpillar
14.3
16.3
18.0
20.6
Germany
Germany
Germany
Germany
(continued)
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Table 22. France: Wheeled Excavators Available, 2003 (continued)
Manufacturer
Daewoo
Model
Solar 130W-V
Solar 170W-III
Solar 200W-III
Solar 200W-V
HP
132
144
144
153
Engine
Manufacturer
Daewoo
Daewoo
Daewoo
Daewoo
Service Weight
(tonnes)
12.7
17.3
19.4
19.5
Product
Source
Korea
Korea
Korea
Korea
Fiat Kobelco
EX95W
EX125W
EX135W
EX165W
EX215W
76
100
103
153
145
Perkins
Perkins
Cummins
Cummins
Iveco
9.5
12.2
15.0
17.7
22.0
Italy
Italy
Italy
Italy
Italy
Hitachi
The model ZX130W will be launched in 2004 at 13.0 tonnes
ZX160W
121
Isuzu
15.6-18.0
Netherlands
ZX210W
147
Isuzu
19.2-21.5
Netherlands
Hydrema
M800
M1100
M1520B
M1700
74
101
122
122
Deutz
Deutz
Deutz
Deutz
8.8
11.0
16.8
17.0
Germany
Germany
Germany
Germany
Hyundai
Robex 130W-3
Robex 170W-3
Robex 200W-3
102
116
126
Cummins
Cummins
Cummins
13.0
16.5
18.8
Korea
Korea
Korea
JS130W
JS145W
JS160W
JS175W
JS200W
83
96
96
128
128
Isuzu
Isuzu
Isuzu
Isuzu
Isuzu
13.0
14.1
16.0
17.0
20.5
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
Komatsu
PW75R-2
PW95R-2
PW110R-1
PW130ES-6
PW150ES-6
PW170ES-6
68
83
95
106
109
125
Perkins
Perkins
Perkins
Komatsu
Komatsu
Komatsu
8.4
10.1
11.2
13.1
15.3
17.0
Italy
Italy
Italy
UK
UK
UK
Liebherr
A308
A310B
A312
A314
A316
A900C
A904
A914
A924
A934
A944
72
79
84
109
117
120
135
152
152
186
223
Deutz
Deutz
Deutz
Deutz
Deutz
Liebherr
Liebherr
Liebherr
Liebherr
Liebherr
Liebherr
10.3
11.6
13.2
15.2
16.6
17.4
19.6
21.7
23.0
31.3
51.2
Germany
Germany
Germany
Germany
Germany
Germany
Germany
Germany
Germany
Germany
Germany
JCB
(continued)
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Table 22. France: Wheeled Excavators Available, 2003 (continued)
Manufacturer
Liebherr (continued)
Model
A954
A974
HP
286
425
Engine
Manufacturer
Liebherr
Liebherr
Service Weight
(tonnes)
65.0
113.0
Product
Source
Germany
France
Mecalac
10MSX
12MSX
12MXT
14MBX
77
82
102
111
Cummins
Cummins
Cummins
Cummins
7.1
8.8
8.8
12.8
France
France
France
France
MH2.5
MH4.5
MH City
MH Plus
MH5.5
MH5 Compact
MH6
71
90
67
99
121
114
158
Deutz
Deutz
Deutz
Deutz
Deutz
Deutz
Deutz
9.5
12.2
15.5
16.8
19.9
20.6
22.4
Germany
Germany
Germany
Germany
Germany
Germany
Germany
HML22
HML32
HML42
60
72
91
Deutz
Deutz
Deutz
5.0
9.0
10.0
Germany
Germany
Germany
1004
1104
1304
1404
1504
1604
1704
1805
2005
75
80
80
102
122
150
170
140
166
Deutz
Deutz
Deutz
Deutz
Deutz
Deutz
Deutz
Deutz
Deutz
9.2
11.3
13.4
14.6
15.7
17.6
20.9
20.0
22.0
Germany
Germany
Germany
Germany
Germany
Germany
Germany
Germany
Germany
EW70/70VV
EW160B
EW180B
56
120
150
Mitsubishi
Volvo
Volvo
7.3
15.8
19.8
Germany
Germany
Germany
O&K
Schaeff
Terex-Atlas
Volvo
Source: Company Information
Table 23. France: Crawler Excavators Available, 2003
Manufacturer
Case
Model
CX75SR
588CK
CX130
CX135SR
CX160
CX180
988
HP
53
88
94
90
108
108
117
Engine
Manufacturer
Isuzu
Case
Isuzu
Isuzu
Isuzu
Isuzu
Case
Service Weight
(tonnes)
8.0
13.2
12.2
14.0
16.7
17.5
19.4
Product
Source
Japan
France
Japan
Japan
Japan
Japan
France
(continued)
36
© Off-Highway Research. Contents confidential to the subscriber.
Off-Highway Research
Table 23. France: Crawler Excavators Available, 2003 (continued)
Manufacturer
Case (continued)
Caterpillar
Daewoo
Fiat Kobelco
Model
CX210
CX225SR
CX240
1188
CX290
CX330
CX350
CX460
CX800
HP
143
140
170
154
191
252
252
340
450
Engine
Manufacturer
Isuzu
Isuzu
Isuzu
Case
Isuzu
Isuzu
Isuzu
Isuzu
Isuzu
Service Weight
(tonnes)
20.5
23.0
23.5
24.0
28.4
34.0
35.9
47.0
80.0
Product
Source
Japan
Japan
Japan
France
Japan
Japan
Japan
Japan
Japan
307B
312C
315B L
318B L
320C
322C
325C
330C
345B L
365B
375 L
5110B
5130B
54
96
107
115
128
153
168
222
290
374
428
696
641
Mitsubishi
Perkins
Perkins
Mitsubishi
Caterpillar
Caterpillar
Caterpillar
Caterpillar
Caterpillar
Caterpillar
Caterpillar
Caterpillar
Caterpillar
7.5
12.7
17.0
19.5
20.9-23.5
23.8-25.8
27.2-29.6
33.9-34.2
47.7-48.6
67.5
79.8-80.6
125.0
181.0-182.0
France
France
France
France
Belgium
Belgium
Belgium
Belgium
Belgium
Belgium
Belgium
Belgium
USA
Solar 130LC-V
Solar 150LC-V
Solar 170LC-V
Solar 220LC-V
Solar 250LC-V
Solar 300LC-V
Solar 340LC-V
Solar 420LC-V
Solar 470LC-V
108
108
116
145
162
200
250
285
316
Daewoo
Daewoo
Daewoo
Daewoo
Daewoo
Daewoo
Daewoo
Daewoo
Daewoo
13.9
15.4
17.2
20.9
24.4
30.8
33.0
41.2
46.9
Belgium
Belgium
Belgium
Belgium
Belgium
Belgium
Korea
Korea
Korea
EX60.5
EX75US
EX100.5
EX135
EX135USR
EX165
EX215
EX225USR
EX235
EX255
EX285
EX355
EX455
55
55
76
90
90
104
145
145
145
170
184
240
305
Nissan
Nissan
Isuzu
Iveco
Iveco
Isuzu
Fiat
Fiat
Fiat
Cummins
Cummins
Isuzu
Isuzu
7.5
7.0
12.0
13.4
13.8
17.3
21.4
22.3
23.6
26.5
28.6
35.5
48.0
Italy
Italy
Italy
Italy
Italy
Italy
Italy
Italy
Italy
Italy
Italy
Italy
Italy
(continued)
37
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Off-Highway Research
Table 23. France: Crawler Excavators Available, 2003 (continued)
Manufacturer
Hitachi
Engine
Service Weight
Product
Model
HP
Manufacturer
(tonnes)
Source
ZX70
52
Isuzu
6.4
Japan
ZX110
85
Isuzu
10.4
Netherlands
Models ZX130 and ZX135US will be launched in the 13 tonne class in 2004
ZX160LC
110
Isuzu
15.7
Netherlands
ZX180LC/LCN
123
Isuzu
17.9
Netherlands
ZX210/LC
150
Isuzu
19.6-21.1
Netherlands
ZX225USR/RLC
150
Isuzu
22.0-22.5
Netherlands
ZX225US/LC
150
Isuzu
23.0-23.5
Netherlands
Model ZX240 will be launched in the 25 tonne class in 2003
Models ZX250, 280, 350 and 460 will be launched in the 25 to 50 tonne classes in 2004
ZX500
320
Cummins
50.0
Japan
ZX600
400
Cummins
56.0
Japan
ZX650
400
Cummins
57.5
Japan
ZX800
460
Cummins
73.9
Japan
ZX850
460
Cummins
75.9
Japan
EX1200-5
650
Cummins
110.8
Japan
EX1900BE
965
Cummins
186.5
Japan
EX2500-5
1,250
Cummins
239.0
Japan
EX3600-5
1,900
Cummins
348.0
Japan
EX5500
1,320 x 2
Cummins
518.0
Japan
Hydrema
R800
R1100
R1820
74
102
122
Deutz
Deutz
Deutz
9.0
11.0
19.0
Germany
Germany
Germany
Hyundai
Robex 130LC-3
Robex 140LC-7
Robex 160LC-3
Robex 180LC-3
Robex 200NLC-3
Robex 210LC-3
Robex 210LC-7
Robex 250LC-3
Robex 290LC-7
Robex 320LC-3
Robex 360LC-7
Robex 450LC-7
102
108
110
116
148
148
155
174
216
230
265
325
Cummins
Cummins
Cummins
Cummins
Cummins
Cummins
Cummins
Cummins
Cummins
Cummins
Cummins
Cummins
14.6
14.0
17.7
19.0
18.1
23.8
24.4
28.9
29.3
31.2
36.1
44.0
Korea
Korea
Korea
Korea
Korea
Korea
Korea
Korea
Korea
Korea
Korea
Korea
JZ70
JS130
JS160L/NL
JS180L
JS200L/S/N
JS210L
JS220LR
JS240S/NL
58
85
96
96
128
128
128
154
Isuzu
Isuzu
Isuzu
Isuzu
Isuzu
Isuzu
Isuzu
Isuzu
7.5
13.6
16.5
18.5
20.7
21.6
21.6
24.6
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
JCB
(continued)
38
© Off-Highway Research. Contents confidential to the subscriber.
Off-Highway Research
Table 23. France: Crawler Excavators Available, 2003 (continued)
Model
JS260S/NL
JS330L/Nl
JS460
HP
154
248
305
Engine
Manufacturer
Isuzu
Isuzu
Isuzu
Service Weight
(tonnes)
25.8
32.6
46.3
Product
Source
UK
UK
UK
HD307
HD512
57
88
Isuzu
Mitsubishi
6.8
11.9
Japan
Japan
Kobelco
SK70SR
SK115SR
SK135SR
SK200-VI
SK235SR
SK230-VI
SK330-VI
SK430-III
55
80
85
145
145
170
240
310
Isuzu
Isuzu
Isuzu
Isuzu
Isuzu
Isuzu
Isuzu
Isuzu
6.7
11.8
14.1
20.7
24.4
24.2
34.9
42.0
Japan
Japan
Japan
Japan
Japan
Japan
Japan
Japan
Komatsu
PC75R-2
PC95R-2
PC110R-2
PC130-6
PC128US-2
PC150LGP-6
PC160-6
PC180LC-6
PC210-7
PC210LC-7
PC228USLC-3
PC228US-3
PC230NHD-7
PC240LC-7
PC240NLC-7
PC290LC/NLC-7
PC340LC/NLC-7
PC450-6/LC
PC600/LC-6
PC750/LC-6
PC1100-6
PC1250-7
PC1800-6
68
83
95
87
86
87
106
106
143
143
143
143
143
168
168
179
242
306
385
444
611
651
908
Perkins
Komatsu
Komatsu
Komatsu
Komatsu
Komatsu
Komatsu
Komatsu
Komatsu
Komatsu
Komatsu
Komatsu
Komatsu
Komatsu
Komatsu
Komatsu
Komatsu
Cummins
Cummins
Komatsu
Komatsu
Komatsu
Cummins
7.6
9.1
10.8
13.3
13.4
16.1
16.5
18.4
21.1
21.1
22.9
23.5
25.0
24.7
24.0
29.0
33.9
44.0-45.0
57.5-60.0
83.8
103.0
109.5
184.1
Italy
Italy
Italy
UK
Japan
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
Japan
Japan
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
Japan
Japan
Japan
Kubota
KX251
59
Kubota
7.4
Japan
Liebherr
R308
R310 B
R312
R900 C
R904
R914 B
72
79
84
120
125
152
Deutz
Deutz
Deutz
Liebherr
Liebherr
Liebherr
11.1
15.3
16.5
19.4
21.7
24.6
Germany
Germany
Germany
Germany
France
France
Manufacturer
JCB (continued)
Kato
(continued)
39
© Off-Highway Research. Contents confidential to the subscriber.
Off-Highway Research
Table 23. France: Crawler Excavators Available, 2003 (continued)
Manufacturer
Liebherr (continued)
Model
R924 B
R934 B
R944 B
R954 B
R964 B
R974 B
R984 C
R992
R994
R994 B
R995
R996
HP
173
197
245
302
367
490
685
782
1,142
1,500
2,140
3,000
Engine
Manufacturer
Liebherr
Liebherr
Liebherr
Liebherr
Liebherr
Cummins
Cummins
Cummins
Cummins
Cummins
MTU
Cummins
Service Weight
(tonnes)
26.0
33.1
41.1
56.9
67.6
86.5
118.1
146.3
229.0
300.5
432.0
652.8
Product
Source
France
France
France
France
France
France
France
France
France
France
France
France
Neuson
8002
12002
69
113
Deutz
Deutz
7.9
11.5
Austria
Austria
RH4.5
RH City
RH Plus
RH5.5
RH6 Compact
RH6.5
RH8.5
RH9.5
RH12.5
RH16.5
RH23.5
RH25.5
81
82
95
114
119
151
181
198
261
261
303
381
Deutz
Deutz
Deutz
Deutz
Deutz
Cummins
Deutz
Deutz
Cummins
Deutz
Cummins
Cummins
16.5
16.5
17.5
21.0
20.1
23.6
27.7
32.1
38.1
43.6
52.4
63.2
Germany
Germany
Germany
Germany
Germany
Germany
Germany
Germany
Germany
Germany
Germany
Germany
HR20
HR32
HR41
60
72
80
Deutz
Deutz
Deutz
6.0
7.5
11.0
Germany
Germany
Germany
TB175
TB80FR
59
56
Yanmar
Yanmar
7.3
7.9
Japan
Japan
EC70/70VV
EC140B
EC160B
EC210B
EC240B
EC290B
EC360B
EC460B
56
93
120
143
168
192
247
306
Mitsubishi
Volvo
Volvo
Volvo
Volvo
Volvo
Volvo
Volvo
7.3
15.2
16.5
21.9
25.8
29.9
38.4
47.9
Germany
Korea
Korea
Korea
Korea
Korea
Korea
Korea
ViO 75V
56
Yanmar
7.7
Japan
O&K
Schaeff
Takeuchi
Volvo
Yanmar
Source: Company Information
40
© Off-Highway Research. Contents confidential to the subscriber.
Off-Highway Research
DOMESTIC MANUFACTURERS
Case
Liebherr
Case France SA
17 rue des Tournelles
BP306
60803 Crépy-en-Valois
Liebherr-France SA
2 rue de l'Industrie
68005 Colmar
Tel: 03 44 94 32 00
Fax: 03 44 87 68 69
Website: www.casece.com
Tel: 03 89 22 31 21
Fax: 03 89 23 30 14
Website: www.lfr.liebherr.com
Caterpillar
Mecalac
Caterpillar France SA
40 avenue Leon Blum
BP 55
F-38041 Grenoble Cedex 9
Mecalac SA
2 avenue de Pré de Challes
PAE des Glaisins
BP230
F-74942 Annecy-le-Vieux
Tel: 04 76 23 70 60
Fax: 04 76 23 72 02
Website: www.cat.com
Tel: 04 50 63 4 01 63
Fax: 04 50 64 07 70
Website: www.mecalac.com
IMPORTERS
Importer's Location
Supplier's Location
Atlas-Terex
Four regional dealers buy directly from Atlas-Terex GmbH
Germany
PO Box 207
324 Stedinger Str
D-27747 Delmenhorst
Germany
Tel: +49 (0)4221-4910
Fax: +49 (0)4221-491213
Website: www.atlas-terex.de
Case
CNH France SA
17 rue des Tournelles
BP306
60803 Crépy-en-Valois
Tel: 03 44 94 32 00
Fax: 03 44 87 68 69
Website: www.casece.com
CNH
18 Place des Nymphéas
Z I Nord II
93420 Villepinte
France
Tel: 01 49 90 23 00
Fax: 01 49 90 25 71
Website: www.casece.com
41
© Off-Highway Research. Contents confidential to the subscriber.
Off-Highway Research
Importer's Location
Supplier's Location
Caterpillar
Bergerat Monnoyeur
117 rue Charles Michels
93208 St Denis
Tel: 01 49 22 60 61
Fax: 01 42 43 51 96
Website: www.b-m.cat.com
Caterpillar Overseas SA
PO Box 456
76 Route de Frontenex
1208 Geneva
Switzerland
Tel: +41 (0)22 737444
Fax: +41 (0)22 413323
Website: www.cat.com
Daewoo
Euro Daewoo France
2/4 rue Pavlov
ZI des Bruyeres
78190 Trappes
Euro Daewoo SA
1A rue Achille Degrace,
B-7080 Frameries
Belgium
Tel: 01 30 16 21 41
Fax: 01 30 16 21 44
Website: www.edsa.be
Tel: +32 (0)65673373
Fax: +32 (0)65 677338
Website: www.edsa.be
Fiat Kobelco
CNH France SA
5 rue Nicholas Copernic
78190 Trappes Elancourt
Tel: 01 30 13 00 00
Fax: 01 30 13 00 03
Website: www.fiatkobelco.com
Fiat Kobelco SpA
Strada Settimo 323
10099 San Mauro Torinese
Italy
Tel: +39 011 26121
Fax: +39 011 2735800
Website: www.fiatkobelco.com
Hydrema
Hydrema France SARL
Les Marches de l’Oise
100 rue Louis Blanc
60765 Montataire
Tel: 03 44 28 27 00
Fax: 03 44 28 22 66
Website: www.hydrema.com
Hydrema A/S
DK-9530 Stovring
Denmark
Tel: +45 98 37 13 33
Fax: +45 98 37 19 96
Website: www.hydrema.com
42
© Off-Highway Research. Contents confidential to the subscriber.
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Importer's Location
Supplier's Location
Hitachi
Hitachi Construction Machinery (Europe) Hitachi Construction Machinery (Europe)
NV France
NV
13 rue Camille Desmoulins
Siciliëweg 5
92441 Issy-les-Moulineaux Cedex
Havennummer 5112
1045 AT Amsterdam
Tel: 01 58 04 25 72
Fax: 01 58 04 23 00
Tel: +31 (0)20 44 76 700
Website: www.hcme.com
Fax: +31 (0)20 33 44 045
Website: www.hcme.com
Hyundai
All dealers buy directly from Belgium
HHI Europe NV
Vossendaal 11
2440 Geel
Belgium
Tel: +32 (0)14 593001
Fax: +32 (0)14 594302
Website: www.hyundai.be
JCB
JCB SA
3 rue du Vignolle
Zone Industrielle
BP 671
95206 Sarcelles
JCB Sales Ltd.
Rocester
Staffordshire ST14 5JP
UK
Tel: 01 34 29 20 20
Fax: 01 39 90 93 66
Website: www.jcb.co.uk
Tel: +44 1889 590312
Fax: +44 1889 590588
Website: www.jcb.co.uk
Kato
Imer France SA
BP 34
ZI de l'Espère
38450 Vif
Kato Works Co. Ltd
9-37 Higasho-ohi 1-chome
Shinagawa-ku
Tokyo 140
Japan
Tel: 04 76 72 52 69
Fax: 04 76 72 46 97
Tel: +81 (0)3 3458 1111
Fax: +81 (0)3 3458 1151
Website: www.kato-works.co.jp
43
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Off-Highway Research
Importer's Location
Supplier's Location
Kobelco
All dealers buy directly from Netherlands
Kobelco Construction Machinery Europe
Bolderweg 50
1332 AW Almere
Netherlands
Tel: +31 (0)36 54 95 500
Fax: +31 (0)36 54 95 555
Website: www.kobelco-kenki.co.jp
Komatsu
Komatsu France SA
21-29 rue du Clos Reine
78410 Aubergenville
Tel: 01 30 90 51 00
Fax: 01 30 90 35 40
Website: www.equipmentcentral.com/europe
Komatsu Europe NV
Mechelsesteenweg 586
B1800 Vilvoorde
Belgium
Tel: +32 2 255 2411
Fax: +32 2 252 198
Website: www.equipmentcentral.com/europe
Liebherr
Liebherr-France SA
2 rue de l'Industrie
68005 Colmar
Liebherr-Hydraulikbagger GmbH
D-88457 Kirchdorf a.d. Iller
Germany
Tel: 03 89 22 31 21
Fax: 03 89 23 30 14
Website: www.lfr.liebherr.com
Tel: +49 (0)7354-80364
Fax: +49 (0)7354-80535
Website: www.lhb.liebherr.com
O&K
CNH France SA
16-18 rue des Rochettes
91150 Morigny-Champigny
Tel: 01 60 80 70 44
Fax: 01 60 80 72 61
Website: www.orenstein-koppel.com
O&K Orenstein & Koppel AG
Staakener Str 53-63
D-13581 Berlin
Germany
Tel: +49 (0)30 33 99 200
Fax: +49 (0)30 33 99 200
Website: www.orenstein-koppel.com
44
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Off-Highway Research
Importer's Location
Supplier's Location
Schaeff
Terex Compact Equipment
6 rue J-P Timbaud
BP 435
95194 Goussainville
Schaeff-Terex GmbH & Co.
PO Box 61
D-74595 Langenburg
Germany
Tel: 01 30 18 08 26
Fax: 01 30 18 05 95
Website: www.terexce.com
Tel: +49 (0)7905 580
Fax: +49 (0)7905 58114
Website: www.karlschaeff.de
Volvo
Volvo Construction Equipment Europe SA
37 av. G. Politzer
F-78190 Trappes-Elancourt
Tel: 01 30 69 28 28
Fax: 01 34 82 96 92
Website: www.volvoce.com
Volvo Construction Equipment Group
Chaussée de la Hulpe 130
B-1000 Brussels
Belgium
Tel: +32 2 674 7611
Fax: +32 2 675 1570
Website: www.volvoce.com
Yanmar
Ammann Distribution SA
ZI Les Petites Haies
31 rue de Valenton
94046 Créteil
Tel: 01 45 17 08 88
Fax: 01 48 98 51 45
Yanmar Diesel Engine Co. Ltd
1-32, Chayamachi
Kita-ku
Osaka 530-8311
Japan
Tel: +81 (0) 6 6376 6299
Fax: +81 (0) 6 6372 2455
Website: www.yanmar.co.jp
45
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