Manufacturers fear that 2003 may represent the end of a remarkable sales boom for telescopic mobile cranes in Spain. After six strong years, there could be a fall of 30% or more in 2004, according to one estimate. Buyers now have bought all that they need for the near and medium term future, it is suggested. But it is difficult to predict the market, and ­ equally ­ the current golden age may continue right through to 2007 with the Spanish government’s massive programme of public works.

Road and railway improvements, new infrastructure at seaports, airport expansions, continuing growth in the tourism sector and the erection of several thousand wind turbines across the Iberian peninsula will keep cranes of all sizes, right up to the biggest lattice boomed beasts, busy.

Not many years ago, Spain was a market that preferred lower cost machines ­ used cranes, truck cranes or rough terrain cranes. Growing prosperity among crane owners, on the back of massive construction investment, has made purchasing habits more sophisticated. The rental companies (or, more specifically, their customers) want only modern all terrain cranes now, and preferably German ones. According to various leading crane salesmen in Spain, there were 321 new all terrain cranes sold there last year and virtually no truck cranes or RTs.

In the past four years, sales of new ATs in Spain have averaged more than 300 units. It would be surprising if that number was reached this year, given that there were just 48 units sold in the first quarter, 30% down on the first quarter 2002 sales. It is likely to remain the world’s second biggest AT market, however, behind only Germany. Enrique Paralta of Mopsa, the Grove distributor for the past 38 years, estimates that the AT market in 2003 will be at least 225 units. As for next year? ‘It is difficult to predict, but many people think 2004 will be like 2003.’

Juan Gallego, mobile crane sales director of Liebherr Ibérica thinks that the total number of mobile crane sales this year will be nearer 300 units, reducing to 200 units a year in 2004 and 2005.

There is still a lot of construction going on. The government’s E30bn railway expansion programme is only 20% complete, Gallego says. The new high speed railway line between Madrid and Barcelona is only just past half way, having reached Zaragosa, and there are plans to extend the network to Portugal, says Enrique Paralta.

The E9bn airport investment programme is just 30% complete. Paralta drives past the construction site of the new Madrid airport most days and says that there are still 50 or 60 mobile cranes on site every day. That project still has a couple of years to run until it is fully completed.

‘Our customers tell us that all their machines are working practically every day,’ Paralta says.

According to Paralta, crane buyers are mostly replacing old truck cranes, rather than adding to the industry’s stock, but there are still about 500 or 600 old machines ripe for replacement, he reckons.

Even if 200 units a year may be a more realistic expectation for the Spanish market in the years ahead, it would remain the same sort of size as Italy, France and the UK.

The leading player in the Spanish mobile crane market appears to be Liebherr, which claimed a 45% share in 2002, with 145 new cranes sold, compared to Demag’s 60 units and Grove’s 40. Spanish manufacturer Luna is estimated by its German competitors to have sold about 50 units.

PPM of France put a lot of smaller cranes into Spain a few years ago ­ 180 units in 1999 ­ but it was unsustainable and its dealer had difficulty finding ‘good financial solutions for the customer,’ according to Terex Cranes international president Steve Filipov. PPM shipped just 20 units in 2002. Terex now sells mobile cranes into Spain through the Demag network and reports a market share increase (Demag and PPM together) up from 17% to 23% for the first quarter of 2003.

Tadano Faun missed out on the early part of the boom in Spain but in June 2002 appointed Mycsa as its distributor, the company that also represents Palfinger and Sennebogen, and has now got itself firmly in play. Mycsa sold 22 machines in the second half of 2002 and a further 25 in the first half of 2003.

Bernd Fernka of Mycsa says that the customers of Spanish crane rental companies do not want to see truck cranes or lattice boom cranes on their sites ­ only ATs. The virtues of lattice boom crawlers are not recognised in Spain, it seems. Mycsa sold just two lattice boom Sennebogens last year. And although Liebherr-Werk Nenzing has sold 23 crawler cranes into Spain since January 2002, most of these were duty cycle machines for foundation work.

Most buyers want ATs in the range of 50t capacity up to 100t. But larger units are also bought. Mopsa has sold three 200t GMK 5200 all terrains to the Canary Islands, for example (one each to Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote). Liebherr has sold 10 units of its 500t capacity LTM 1500 in recent years, primarily for the wind turbine erection industry, and last year Demag sold a 650t AC 650 to Grúas Deca, based in La Coruña.

The growth of wind power in Spain has been, and continues to be, dramatic. Spain has the third greatest wind power generating capacity, 4,144MW, and is investing E900m a year in the sector. Government forecasts suggests that generating capacity from wind turbines will be 11,500 MW by 2010. The wind power sector has driven demand for large cranes. Initially, 300t or 500t telescopics were required. A 1.5MW wind turbine machine, such as a Vestas V66, can by lifted to a height of 85m by a 500t telescopic Demag or Liebherr. But the new generation of bigger turbines ­ the 2MW V80 or forthcoming 3MW V90, for example ­ demand great big lattice boom cranes. In the past three years, Liebherr has sold two LG 1550 lattice boom truck cranes (550t capacity), a 600t LR 1600-1 crawler crane and a 350t LR 1350 crawler. Demag also reports successes with its crawler cranes.

In neighbouring Portugal, host to the 2004 European football championship, sales of new all terrain cranes dropped from 34 units in 2000 and 28 units in 2001 to just 11 units in 2002. Indeed, unit sales of construction equipment (all types) fell 36% in Portugal last year, according to the research organisation Off Highway Research. Crane sales in the first quarter indicate a slight pick up, though, with five new ATs bought in the first three months of 2003.