{"id":10238,"date":"2022-04-26T01:47:07","date_gmt":"2022-04-26T01:47:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.findadistributor.com\/news\/?p=10238"},"modified":"2022-04-19T10:17:35","modified_gmt":"2022-04-19T10:17:35","slug":"liugong-na-poised-for-growth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.findadistributor.com\/news\/liugong-na-poised-for-growth\/","title":{"rendered":"LiuGong NA Poised for Growth"},"content":{"rendered":"

Andrew Ryan, LiuGong North America (LGNA)<\/a> president, sees a bright future for his company and the equipment rental industry as it looks to grow and expand in 2022.<\/p>\n

Ryan was named president in August 2021 and has 25 years of experience in the construction equipment industry. Prior to LGNA<\/a>, Ryan worked for Caterpillar, Deerfield, Ill., where he served in senior roles spanning machine marketing, dealer administration, rental and aftermarket parts. In an interview at The ARA Show 2021 in Las Vegas, Ryan spoke about some of the goals he would like to see LGNA<\/a> achieve moving forward.<\/p>\n

LGNA<\/a>, a subsidiary of Guangxi LiuGong Machinery, Liuzhou, China, employs about 10,000 people and has 20 manufacturing facilities worldwide. The North America and Latin America divisions were established in 2008. The operational headquarters in Katy has a focus on supporting its expanding dealer network as well as accommodating parts warehousing and training.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have ambitions to grow,\u201d Ryan says. \u201cFirst and foremost, we want to expand our dealer network. We have about 30 construction equipment dealers in the U.S. right now and just under 60 forklift dealers. But, even with those numbers, some geographic regions remain uncovered and that\u2019s where we\u2019re looking for partners.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ryan says LGNA<\/a> is looking toward the equipment rental industry as it adds more regional and mid-tier rental partners, particularly in those areas where LGNA<\/a> doesn\u2019t have robust dealer coverage.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we\u2019re thinking about what a rental company really wants, it is a competitive asset price that gives them a good ROI (return on investment) model,\u201d Ryan says. \u201cThey want to believe their customers are going to have a positive experience with that machine, and they want to believe that over the five years plus that it lives in their fleet, they\u2019re not going to have to spend a significant number of dollars to maintain it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ryan says LiuGong<\/a> machines have five-year standard construction warranties, adding the machines are designed for the operator. From a rental fleet perspective, he says LiuGong<\/a> machines are growing in acceptance with the North American customer base.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no question the rental industry is going to grow,\u201d Ryan says. \u201cI think people sometimes underestimate in this business the amount of financial management that\u2019s required. It\u2019s a business very sensitive to cost inputs and revenue leakage. With those turnaround processes, a huge amount of money can be lost in the rental operation if not managed properly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ryan says he is both optimistic and excited about the opportunities LGNA<\/a> provides for the equipment rental industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think with the product lines we manufacture, it\u2019s reasonable to assume that at least a third of that product has to be delivered through a rental channel to find the end user,\u201d he says. \u201cI don\u2019t think we can realistically be successful as a construction brand in North America without a strong presence in the rental space, whether that\u2019s through our dealers or through partners or more than likely, a combination of those.\u201d<\/p>\n

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LiuGong\u2019s collaborative approach is a core value that has led to leaps in build quality and reliability through joint ventures with top component makers.<\/p><\/div>\n

Building distribution and support<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kevin Thieneman, LiuGong North America (LGNA)<\/a> chairman and vice president of Guangxi LiuGong Machinery, Liuzhou, China, LGNA\u2019s parent company,\u00a0and Chris Saucedo, LGNA<\/a> senior vice president, strategy and customer solutions, see proper distribution to\u00a0support key accounts as one of the continued goals
\nof the company.<\/p>\n

Speaking at The Utility Expo in September in Louisville, Ky., the two executives said they\u2019re seeing an increased demand for equipment rental and that North American market integration is crucial to the company\u2019s success.<\/p>\n

Thieneman says the company has built more than 500,000 wheel loaders in its 65-year history. He says LiuGong<\/a> is No. 1 in wheel loaders in China and, depending on the month, No. 3 or No. 4 in excavator volume.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re the leader in China and it\u2019s the largest wheel loader industry in the world,\u201d Thieneman says. \u201cThat\u2019s a good position to build upon. China also has the largest excavator industry and most players, including LiuGong<\/a>, compete with a globally accepted design. When you add in the scissor products, we now have a more complete lineup for rental.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thieneman says in terms of dealer-owned rental fleets, they\u2019re still looking for the lowest cost of acquisition on basic dependable machines.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir customers are renting machines for a period of time,\u201d Thieneman says. \u201cMaybe for five hours. They don\u2019t need everything with the bells and whistles and that tends to be true for the smaller rental companies,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, the bigger rental companies, you can read what they say publicly. They want to leverage technology. I think that\u2019s true across the board. We\u2019re trying to go that route with our rental company in China we acquired from Herc,\u201d he says, referring to Hertz China, which LiuGong<\/a> acquired in 2020 from Herc Holdings.<\/p>\n

Saucedo says if a rental house has a high degree of uptime, the opportunity to make money is greater. He says LGNA<\/a> uses strategic partnerships, allowing the company to design products like a fully integrated manufacturer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe global componentry is one of the advantages with us,\u201d Saucedo says. \u201cYou get into other OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] that are extremely vertically integrated, you\u2019re captive to them. Not only for your parts, but also your service support.\u201d<\/p>\n