Letter from China: Watch Out, They're Coming
38 Construction Equipment Distribution www.cedmag.com October 2009 Global Perspective About every 10 years or so, economic and political pundits predict the demise of the U.S. In the '70s it was the missile gap. In the '80s it was thought the U.S. was at risk of imperial overstretch and would collapse. The '90s was the Japanese threat they might end up owning the whole U.S. including Pebble Beach, Rochefeller Center and maybe even all of California. Because of the current economic crisis there are fresh predictions of the U.S. decline, especially linked to China's emergence as an economic powerhouse. What are missing from the debate are facts. Take a look at a few facts: At $14.3 trillion, the U.S. GDP is three times as much as number two, Japan. Per capita income at $47,000 is the highest of any country. Our military spending at $607 billion is far greater than the next nine countries combined. Of the world's top 20 universities, all but three are American. The U.S. dollar is the reserve currency for 64 percent of all foreign exchange held by other countries. I traveled to China recently to find out how much of a threat its construc-tion machinery manufacturers pose to U.S. companies. My conclusion: Watch out, they're on the way with world class products, but can they find distributors to sell them? I had the privilege of speaking to the Construction Machinery Association Information Committee Conference of the Chinese Construc-tion Manufacturers Association (CCMA) in Changsha, Hunan Province, China, during the end of August. Changsha is the home to three of China's construction machinery manufacturers: Sunward, SANY and Zoomlion. During the CCMA meet-ing, attendees were entertained with plant tours of each of the companies. I enjoy plant tours, which might sound strange for most people it's a matter of seen one, seen them all. But I've found that I learn a lot about a company by walking around their manufacturing plants. SANY's plant resembles an aircraft manufacturing factory immaculate floor and working surfaces, lots of light and a well-orga-nized concrete pump assembly area. Sunward, a company founded by a university professor, exudes the latest lean manufacturing techniques. I think the company's patented static pile driver has a lot of potential applications, particularly in cities here where vibration from conventional pile hammers would damage surrounding structures. The Invited guests for an all-day 10 th anniversary celebration at the Sunward plant sit before a backdrop of some 2,000 factory employees. The temperature was about 105 degrees Fahrenheit, with no air conditioning electric fans aimed at blocks of ice blew cool breezes toward the crowd. Letter from China: Watch Out, They're Coming Benefiting from a swifter and more effective stimulus turnaround, Chinese equipment manufacturers could lose some momentum in North America thanks to emissions regulations and dealer consolidation. By frAnk mAnfredi