Manitowoc alleges Sany’s SCC8500 crawler crane infringes upon two of its counterweight patents.In a report released today, the ChinaDailyUSA website says that 2013 was “a year worth celebrating” for Sany America, a division of Chinese equipment manufacturer Sany.
According to the report, the U.S. subsidiary has doubled sales from last year, and now covers 65 percent of the United States, Canada and Mexico with its dealer network. There are now 32 Sany U.S. dealers.
The company—which recently went through a leadership change when Mike Rhoda replaced Tim Frank, who resigned, as CEO—says it now employs around 100 people near Atlanta, Georgia.
Rhoda says in the report that one of his goals is to “establish a high level of satisfaction with the Sany brand” among existing and future dealers.
The ChinaDaily report paints a much different picture for Sany’s fortunes here in the U.S. than did a November report from Forbes. According to that report, the company’s expansion into the U.S. and other foreign markets has been a failure with net profits down by 40 percent since 2011 with sales expected to drop to $6.7 billion this year.
In addition, back in June Sany was sued by Manitowoc for infringement of two patents of crane counterweight systems. Since then the U.S. government has launched its own investigation into the matter.
