However, he refused to be drawn on a timescale, and whether Terex would seek a joint venture or build its own factory. ‘I see no reason why we couldn’t acquire companies in China. We plan to both acquire and build new businesses,’ he said.
Terex has operated in China since 1988 with two joint ventures, one for the manufacture of trucks, and another more recent deal to make excavators. Both partnerships are with North Hauler based in Boutou, Inner Mongolia. DeFeo said Terex had not decided whether to start a crane rental business in China. But, he added: ‘If that is the way business is done we would hope to partner with some local companies to make that happen… Our goal is very simple, and that is to double our sales every year for a while for China. We haven’t set a long term goal because it is difficult to forecast the changes from one year to the next, but the potential is tremendous.’
Terex is actively working on building its Chinese business. It has offices in Beijing and Shanghai: ‘If not in 2006, then surely after that we should have at least $1bn coming from China,’ DeFeo said.
He said he wanted to grow Terex’s revenue from the current $4.7bn to around $6bn by 2006. ‘[To do that] I’m going to have to find some products to grow our company in different markets and with new products in our old markets,’ he added.
DeFeo is also chairman of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, sponsor of the USA’s largest plant and equipment show, Conexpo. He said his personal belief was that there should only be three main shows in the world – one in North America, another in Europe, and a third in Asia, and that each should be held every three years. Speaking at Bauma China in Shanghai last month, he said, ‘I think this is a terrific show. If not Bauma China then potentially another Chinese show will become the largest construction and mining equipment show in the world.’
