China's manufacturers embrace transition to green, smart construction equipment

Chinese manufacturers of construction equipment are ready to embrace a greener and more intelligent future, presenting electric versions of multiple vehicles and the application of smart technologies at North America's largest construction trade show opened here on Tuesday.

Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group (XCMG) unveiled a pure electric heavy-duty off-road dump truck with a rated load of 67 tonnes and two pure electric battery counterbalanced forklifts at the show named CONEXPO-CON/AGG.

Liu Quan, chief executive officer with XCMG America, told Xinhua that XCMG would prioritize the introduction of electric products including electric loaders, excavators, road rollers and mining equipment to dealers and key clients as the world attaches more importance to climate change and environmental protection.

A single drum roller equipped with the latest unmanned control technology and automatic rolling construction accuracy of less than 2 centimeters was showcased by XCMG.

At the show, XCMG also exhibited 17 types of excavators, all of which adopt electric hydraulic systems with improved fuel efficiency. Auxiliary construction such as intelligent weighing and one-touch automatic slope repair or leveling is available as options, said XCMG in a release.

"We have cracked the core component problems such as battery, electric control and motor, and have actually achieved mass production of the products," said Dong Yuzhong, vice president with the research institute of XCMG's Excavating Machinery Division.

Liugong Machinery Co., Ltd., which brought an electric wheel loader and an electric excavator, announced on Tuesday that it has sold its first battery electric vehicle in the United States.

"The industry is talking about battery electric vehicles at a greater volume than in the years past, particularly going into CONEXPO," said Andrew Ryan, president of LiuGong North America.

Sany Group showcased an electric wheel loader and a mini electric excavator with an eye on opportunities from electric transition in the United States.

Still, Sany is not selling the electric versions of equipment in the United States and Sany "just let people know that Sany is looking towards the future, looking to understand where machines and the equipment are gonna go from an electric standpoint," said Gabriel Weiss, director of marketing and digitization with SANY America.

"The whole intent of what we're trying to do is to find what fits within the U.S. market and bring it to the U.S. market at the appropriate time for our customers," Weiss told Xinhua in an interview on Wednesday.

Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science and Technology exhibited multiple green and intelligent aerial work platforms at the show.

The whole industry is developing in a green, smart and digital manner with the application of technologies on 5G, big data and the Internet of Things and Zoomlion attaches importance to the long-term and sustainable development, said Bruce Liu, general manager assistant with Zoomlion International.

Chinese construction equipment makers as a whole have made fast progress in offering green, digital, informationized and large-scale products, said Shi Yonghong, vice president of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products.

New models powered by electricity, hydrogen and hybrid fuels were developed and Chinese players are basically at the same level with the world's top-level manufacturers, Shi told Xinhua.

Shi noted that impressive progress has been made by tapping technologies on the Internet of Things, industry cloud as well as augmented reality.

Held triennially in Las Vegas, the massive show of CONEXPO-CON/AGG runs from Tuesday through Saturday, showcasing the latest equipment advances and newest technology applications in every field of construction.