Acquisition of the Dressta dozer line gives LiuGong a parts depot in the Chicago area the company will use for all U.S. distributed products, says David Beatenbough, LiuGong’s vice president of research and development, in an interview with Equipment World today at the Intermat trade show in Paris.
“We’re still opening territories in North America,” Beatenbough says, “but we also realize you sometimes need to slow down to go fast. We want to make sure we have the product support system in place before we sign dealers in certain territories.” The company currently has around 17 North American dealers.
Beatenbough says he’s “extremely happy” with the first 75 days of the acquisition from Poland’s HSW. “We can see the efficiencies already.” LiuGong is currently working out the lineup of Dressta and LiuGong dealers. If there is no territory in conflict, current Dressta dealers will likely be converted to LiuGong dealers. North America is a key market for the Dressta dozers, where eight models ranging from 74 to 515 horsepower are sold, Beatenbough says. “Dressta dozers are known there for their International Harvester-heritage durable undercarriage. It’s a solid, simple machine.”
Every product on display at Intermat — with the exception of the motor grader — either is or will be available in North America, according to Beatenbough. “Excavators will be a strong focus there, with six models ranging from 6 to 36 metric tons.” A 45-metric-ton is slated to begin selling in North America by the end of the year. At Intermat, LiuGong intro’d its E-series excavators, which it says has one of the widest cabs in the industry and offers a 20 percent gain in both productivity and reduced fuel consumption.
