European construction equipment manufacturers are on the brink of profound transformation, driven by external factors such as rising competition from emerging markets, tightening regulatory requirements, the gradual growth of rental as primary customer segment for several machine types, weak economic recovery and the advancements of telematics and data-driven solutions. These trends are converging and collectively hitting the industry at once, with the potential to change the competitive landscape. The sector, concludes a new report by McKinsey, is about to shift priority from being operations focussed to becoming customer centric.
“As an industry, we are embracing the transformation McKinsey describes”, Bernd Holz, CECE president and sales director of Amman Europe (North).
“We’ve used the past years to make our production leaner and sustain our strength to compete globally. Now, we are shifting from selling just steel and hydraulics to an offering of more all-integrated services to support customers in executing their work. The key for OEMs will be how quick they can shift and implement the foreseen future in their strategy, and to ready ourselves for the era of digitisation.”
“Of critical importance is our technology leadership”, concluded Holz. “Many of us are planning to increase our spending on R&D as part of our shift to greater customer orientation. Technology is our heart and soul.” Holz called on the European legislator to set the framework conditions to make sure the engineering champions of Europe, such as the construction equipment industry, can reap their potential.