Construction gear makers optimistic

China’s two leading construction gear makers have defined this year as “the best year in history,” thanks to booming infrastructure demands in rural China and the trend of superseding humans with machines.

The Hunan-based Sany Heavy Industry Co Ltd said that it raked in a revenue of 58.69 billion yuan (US$8.35 billion) in the first three quarters of this year, up 42.88 percent year-on-year.

The maker of excavators, cranes and other construction machinery also saw that its net profit attributable to shareholders rise by 87.56 percent year on year to a record 9.16 billion yuan, Sany’s President Xiang Wenbo said.

Another industry leader, Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science & Technology Co Ltd, reported a similar boom, with 31.76 billion yuan in revenue from January to September, up 50.96 percent year on year.

Its net profit attributable to shareholders also surged 167 percent, a record high.

“China’s infrastructure sector, especially in rural areas, still has vast, untapped potential. The country’s per capita infrastructure ownership is far lower than in developed countries,” Xiang said, adding, “it will be a powerful engine for economic growth.”

The increasing demands for machines in the place of human workers also promise an expanding domestic market for machinery manufacturers.