Terex Cranes’ president and ceo Steve Filipov told Cranes Today he expected to sell 40 Italiian RTs in the US next year because the Wilmington, North Carolina plant was already working flat out, and is sold out to the first half of 2006.
These models will be sold and serviced through Terex American in Wilmington.
Meanwhile, Filipov refused to confirm that Terex’s crane division would soon have a manufacturing operation in China, either as a joint venture or 100% Terex-owned. However, he did hint at moves in this direction: “We are heavily interested in China. Terex wants to be in that market.”
Filipov said Terex Cranes’ main focus in the US for 2006 would be on cost reduction. “The market won’t take many more price increases. However, we do need to improve our margins and cost cutting will do that,” he said.
The company in the US has hired management consultant AT Kearney, which is helping it implement tighter cost control. Cost savings would, said Filipov, come from current suppliers or by going to new suppliers, and he expected to see results of the initiative in the first or second quarter of next year.
