Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has signed an agreement with STX Construction (Dalian) Co., Ltd., of Dalian, China - a group company of STX Corporation, a major Korean shipbuilder - under which MHI will license production and marketing of marine deck cranes. Through licensing to a company in the STX group, which has shipyards in Korea, China and Europe, MHI aims to accelerate global market penetration of its technology-based marine deck cranes.
Earlier, MHI licensed the technology to Jiangsu Masada Heavy Industries Co, Ltd. of China in 2008 and to SPP Machine Tech Co., Ltd. of Korea in January 2013.
The deck cranes to be licensed are two models, currently on the market, having a 30-ton hoisting capacity and a working radius of up to 26 and 28 meters, respectively. MHI will supply STX Construction (Dalian) with components for the cranes, including hydraulic machinery.
Marine deck cranes are located on the decks of cargo ships and are used for cargo loading and unloading. MHI presently enjoys the largest share, 40%, of the Japanese market. For some time the company has been looking for a way to effectively penetrate into the shipyards of the STX group, a major player in Korea, a shipbuilding superpower. Meanwhile STX Construction (Dalian) has been seeking to enhance its deck crane portfolio through the addition of competitive machines. The intentions of the two companies thus meshed and led to the conclusion of the licensing agreement.
STX Group is a conglomerate headquartered in South Gyeongsang Province. The group's main business is shipbuilding, with shipyards not only in Korea but also in Dalian and in Europe. The main business purpose of STX Construction (Dalian), established in 2006, is architectural projects like residential building and vacation village etc; complete equipment project like crane, steel structure, pipe pile and plant mechanical production, etc and civil work projects like bridge, road and tunnel, etc. The company has approximately 900 employees.
Going forward MHI looks to maintain and further develop its solid collaborative relationship with the STX group, as well as to promote further penetration of its marine deck cranes in the global market.
Source: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
