LIFTING equipments manufacturer Eastern Morris Cranes (EMC) is embarking on a major expansion plan by increasing the production capacity of its manufacturing facility in Dammam Industrial City, next year.

The joint venture between Saudi Arabia-based Al Zamil Group and Stahl CraneSystems, EMC delivers cranes to all the GCC countries including Jordan and Yemen from its Dammam facility.

“We plan to upgrade our existing Dammam facility to increase the production from the current 300 cranes per year to 400 cranes per year in the year 2013,” says Abood Ali Humaid, general manager, EMC.

Further, to serve major EPC contractors worldwide, EMC also plans to set up a new unit in Saudi Arabia for international projects business in association with its partner Stahl CranesSystem.

“With our new partner Stahl CranesSystem, we are forming a new unit for the international projects business in Saudi Arabia to serve major EPC contractors.

“From here, we can supply the safest ex proof products to new oil, gas and petrochemical projects in the kingdom. We aim to be the undisputed leader in this field within the kingdom,” says Humaid.

Last year, EMC signed a joint venture with Stahl CraneSystems from Germany. Stahl CraneSystems which has been around for over 130 years are the pioneer of the explosion proof protection and will help EMC to be more competitive. “With a high-performing development team and countless pioneering inventions, we have succeeded in decisively influencing the technological progress within the industry. We are a manufacturer of overhead cranes, goliath/semi goliath cranes and jib cranes,” says Jens Wesseler, area development manager, Stahl CraneSystems.

Under the principle of safety in mind, EMC has been producing top quality lifting equipments for the last decade. Products are being manufactured under strict quality control, and continuous research ensures its products stay the best with high reliability and performance.

The company also provides after sales services utilising its inspection, spares and service divisions. EMC is an accredited supplier to all major companies and government enterprises in Saudi Arabia and the GCC. In 2003, it was awarded the Certificate of Compliance in Quality Assurance of Management ISO 9001:2008.

“EMC service division won some good projects this year and it is one of our focus area for improvement in the future. We hope to be the leading service provider in the region for industrial cranes.

“We do have at present more than a thousand cranes and hoist under maintenance contract and we aim to double the amount by the end of 2013,” says EMC’s Humaid.

The company says it has successfully tackled the supply chain challenges it faced as it brought Stahl as a partner which doubled its product portfolio. The new product partner Stahl CranesSystem from Germany will help EMC to lead the ex proof business in Saudi Arabia.

The company also opened a new spare parts showroom in Dammam 1st Industrial Area to provide better after sales services to its customers.

During the first half of the current year, EMC has won orders worth $13.3 million (SR50 million) with oil and gas majors like Saudi Aramco, Zamil Offshore, Sabic, SEC and major contractors in Saudi Arabia.

EMC supplies industrial cranes to many business sectors including steel industries, power plants, petrochemical industries, desalination plants, pre-cast factories and many other applications.

“At this moment our maximum revenue comes from the cranes production but we are targeting equal revenue from our services and spare parts division in the near future,” says Humaid.

According to him, the cranes market in Saudi Arabia is a growing market for industrial cranes thanks to the Saudi Government spending on the industry sector.

Globally the industrial cranes demand is booming in the Far East countries like China, Indonesia and India as well as in the Middle East and North America (Mena) region. The demand especially in Europe is dramatically slowing down, whereas the Americas are pretty stable.

The slowdown in Europe is leading to growth in the Saudi Arabian market a lot where the demand is growing rapidly and will grow even further in the upcoming years, Humaid adds.