Factory crane orders defy economic gloom

Pimblett said the company conservatively expected overall sales for 2008/9 to be at least 40 percent ahead of 2007/8. “In the first five months of the financial year starting in April, we have seen like for like monthly order intake up to 100 per cent higher than the previous year,” he explained. Factory cranes were a serious capital investment with a single unit costing from tens of thousands of pounds up to several hundred thousands, the company said. With most companies expecting a working life of at least 20 years, these were investment decisions that were being made after serious consideration of customers’ own prospects. Street Crane therefore believed its current success was a barometer of the confidence that UK manufacturers have in their future and an indicator of what is happening in the wider world economy. “Within the UK, we are seeing some long-term customers who are continuing to invest and grow,” Pimblett said. “The steel maker Corus has placed substantial orders with Street Crane over the past 12 months as part of upgrading and expanding capacity. At the other extreme, we have received significant orders from four UK luxury boat builders, Princess Yachts, Fairline Boats, Sunseeker and Sealine. The common factor is probably that our customers are doing well by serving a world market that is hungry for their products.” Street Crane itself has more than reversed a traditional UK to export ratio of 60/40; a trend that has been supported by two initiatives – new product development and active international partnering to become a supplier of high value components to other industrial crane makers overseas. To cope with its new order intake, Street has committed £750,000 to a factory extension that will increase the workshop area by around 30 percent and add a new steel stockyard. The new facilities will be on stream early in 2009. To meet immediate production space needs in the main factory, the company has leased additional warehouse space to relocate its parts storage and some CNC machines. The company expects around 20 new jobs to be created in the expanded factory, of which many will be design engineers to support the product development programme. Providing trends continue, plans are also in hand for further expansion in 2009 with the building of a new dedicated hoist works. Picture: Designed specifically for the world crane market, Street Crane’s first ZX6 hoist rolls of the production line earlier this year.