UAE-based Bothani Mechanical and Engineering Equipment Trading has announced that it is setting up facilities in the country to manufacture tower cranes, with production starting in July – making it the Middle East’s first home-grown producer in the sector.
The company, which is already a dealer of tower cranes and other equipment in the GCC, claims that it will also be the first-ever manufacturer in the entire Middle East and North Africa region. It is setting up the production facilities in a joint venture with ENG cranes, with the partnership set to bring Italian know-how and technology to the region.
Bothani put up a prototype of its new, completely hydraulic tower crane models for display as a preview at its outdoor stand in the Big 5 Heavy exhibition in Dubai last week, where Momammad Abu Ghazale, finance director of the company, said: “For a company such as ours, which is setting out on an important new venture, it was vital to gauge the market response to our initiative. We will be the first manufacturers of tower cranes in the MENA region, and we used the event to disseminate information about our upcoming products.
“The reception has been very positive and we’ve seen great interest in our range and in the fact that we are setting up manufacturing facilities here in the UAE. I think the market is ready for a home-grown manufacturer that understands the needs and concerns of tower crane users in the region. We have received a few proposals and we’re looking at some prospective partners.”
Bothani’s new factory will be operational around July and the first production run will be of five tower cranes in the first month of operations, after which production will be increased gradually, step by step, Abu Ghazale added.
“The biggest display at our outdoor stand was one of our upcoming tower crane concepts, which is like a two-in-one model combining a luffing jib with a derrick crane. It is a unique concept and we have seen a huge interest in it. There is also great interest in another of our upcoming models – a flat top tower crane with a uniquely long 90m jib length and a maximum capacity of 4.7t at the jib-end,” he said.
