Zoomlion Heavy IndustryScience and Technology Co., Ltd. is a Chinese manufacturer of construction machinery and sanitation equipment, Its headquarters are in the Zoomlion Science Park in Changsha, Hunan. Zoomlion is world's sixth largest and China's largest construction machinery enterprise. In 2008, Zoomlion acquired CIFA, the world's third largest concrete machinery manufacturer, which was the largest ever European acquisition by a Chinese company at the time. The business of Zoomlion consists of five sectors: construction machinery, agricultural machinery, heavy trucks, environmental business and financial services. Italian construction equipment maker Compagnia Italiana Forme Acciaio and British construction equipment manufacturer Powermole are subsidiaries of the company.
History
Founded in 1992 as Changsha Hi-tech Development Area Zoomlion Construction Mechanical Industry Company, one of its first products were concrete pumps. The company grew out of a subsidiary founded in 1956 in Beijing, as part of the first Ministry of Machinery Industry, Ministry of Construction, Central Enterprise Work Committee.
Early acquisition of state-owned assets
Early development included the merging of several smaller, preexisting entities with Zoomlion including the former Concrete Machinery Research Office and remnants of the Changsha Construction Machinery Research Institute.
A rarity at a time when developing country companies seldom acquired their developed country counterparts, Zoomlion bought the British company Powermole in the early 2000s. In 2008, Zoomlion made another foreign acquisition with the purchase of Italian concrete machinery manufacturer, Compagnia Italiana Forme Acciaio SpA, in an equity link-up with Goldman Sachs, Mandarin Capital Partners, and Hony Capital.
Having been previously featured in a 2001 CCTV documentary, an advertisement for the company was also presented on CCTV in May 2004.
Accusations of Fraud
In May 2013, Chinese newspaper New Express reported on alleged fraud at Zoomlion. This caused Zoomlion to temporarily suspend trading of its stock and later resulted in a 9% decrease in its share price. Zoomlion accused the reporter Chen Yongzhou of "damaging business interests" and he has since been arrested. In October, 2013, New Express published a large front-page plea for his release.
Environmental unit sale
Due to financial difficulties following a long term slow down in the Chinese construction industry Zoomlion sold its environmental unit in May 2017 for 11.6 billion yuan. This came after the company reported a 929 million yuan loss in the 2015/16 period.
Products
Products are mainly truck-mounted, purpose-specific machinery; heavy machinery; or cranes, and include: bulldozers, concrete machinery, cranes, excavators, fire apparatus, garbage compactor machinery, garbage trucks, loaders, asphalt pavers, pile foundation rotary drilling rigs, road rollers, snowplows, street sweepers, various other road surface vehicles, and environmental and sanitation machinery, etc. Zoomlion has at least four brand names, including its own.
AA
Puyuan
Zhongbiao
Operations
Subsidiaries
All of the following may be subsidiaries or divisions of Zoomlion.
Changsha Construction Machinery Research Institute
Changsha Zoomlion Haiqiang Concrete Co Ltd
China Engineer Machinery Academy Concrete Machinery Session
Compagnia Italiana Forme Acciaio SpA – acquired in 2008