Liebherr to build wheeled loaders in China

Liebherr has announced plans to start manufacturing small numbers of wheeled loaders in China. The first model available will be its 140 kW/ 3.5 m3 bucket capacity L 556 II.

The machines will be manufactured at Liebherr's 19000 m2 excavator factory in Dalian, and are expected to be available from next April.

Dr Stefan Gilch, managing director of Liebherr machinery Service (Shanghai) said, "In co-operation with the European competence centre for Liebherr wheeled loaders in Bischofshofen, Austria, the new L 556 II has been specifically developed to satisfy the needs of the Chinese market. At the same time, being engineered by Liebherr, it complies with our globally high standards."

Liebherr's Dalian factory opened six years ago, and currently produces 23 and 25 tonne crawler excavators. However, production this year is only expected to be some 500 units - a small proportion of the Chinese market, which is likely to exceed 150000 excavators in 2010.

"Our machines are used in the mining and heavy duty application areas. We are definitely a niche player and not active in the mass market," said Dr Gilch