Daniel Searle toured the mountains of northern Spain to speak to members of the crane industry, and found a local industry with a positive outlook. The first stop on the tour was crane manufacturer GH.

A crane being constructed for a steel mill in Iran.
Engineers work on a rotating trolley for one of Jaso’s industrial cranes
A hook, hot from the forge, is transported through the factory at Irizar Forge

The rotated hook is prepared for entry into the cooling station.

As a large international company that is still family-owned, GH is “the last big unknown” in the overhead crane industry, says managing director Jose Antonio Guerra. “We are recognised throughout the industry, but we are family-owned so we can make our own decisions. We want to operate worldwide, but to maintain our family spirit and the flexibility of being a small company. We are a complete integrated manufacturer, so we only depend on ourselves, and we invest a lot in R&D and service, which will be crucial for the future.”

Whilst remaining a family-owned business, GH has a global outlook, says Guerra—the company has a large capacity and technical team, and is present in all main strategic countries.

The first national market we discuss is, of course, the domestic market of Spain. “Since 2013, the Spanish market has been improving, but it is still at half the level it was before the economic crisis, when markets fell by more than 80%,” says Guerra.

“Before the crisis, we were in a position to manufacture 50 cranes a week. It is not possible to reach those levels again, but we are leading the market in Spain and Portugal. For us, Spain, Portugal and France are one region, and we supply customers there with complete cranes. For customers further away, we supply crane kits.

“In France, we bought a company in Nantes, and we are in a good position to lead the French market in the coming years. Whilst we are not so active in central Europe, we are trying to move into Germany in the next two or three years.” The company does business globally, partly spurred on by the effects of the recession in Spain.

“We put a lot of effort into growing across the world after the economic crisis,” says Guerra. “We have a factory in Mexico, and in Brazil. We lead the market in Brazil, although levels there are currently low due to economic issues. In the USA, we supply components in Chicago and have a facility in Dallas, Texas for making complete cranes. Latin America is the objective for the next few years.”

Marcos Lavín, sales director for the crane components business unit at GH, says: “We are very active across the world—we are currently present in 73 countries.”

GH produces both standard cranes, and specialised, customised cranes for specific applications. The special cranes tend to have a low capacity but a high duty rate—such as for 24/7 operations—or a high capacity. The company’s main aim is to develop standard cranes though, says Lavín:

“We launched the GHD range of cranes in 2011, which covers capacities of up to 12.5t. We’re now working on the GHE range, which will cover up to 25t, and will be in production in 2018. The GHE range will incude inverters as standard, closed loop safety, variable speed offering faster movement when the load is lighter, and the hoists will be bolted rather than welded.”

New developments are assisted by the company’s engineering know-how. “The company started as a manufacturer of electrical motors, so we manufacture our own motors up to 55 watts,” says Lavín. “To control the crane, the workings between the inverter and motor is key. We developed our system specifically for hoists, and we understand the relationship between the drive and the motor.” One area that GH doesn’t want to cover with its product range is a cheaper, less functional series of cranes.

“We offer all markets the same products,” says Guerra. “We manufacture all our hoists here in Spain. We can produce a standard crane kit in one week, and send them across the world. And because we manufacture our own components, we have a stock of spare parts ready to ship as well.”

The company serves a wide range of industries, says Lavín: “We work in a range of sectors including aeronautical, pre-cast components, and waste treatment, and we are very active in steel mills, automative and energy. We can also supply marine gantry cranes and marine system solutions.”

Optimistic outlook for the Spanish crane industry