Dallas-based Lewis Equipment to distribute Zoomlion brand

Lewis Equipment and Chinese crane manufacturer Zoomlion have signed an exclusive distribution agreement. Lewis Equipment will offer the full Zoomlion range of wheeled mobile and crawler cranes throughout North and South America.

Zoomlion has dedicated 250 units of its 2008 production schedule of crawler and truck mounted cranes to these markets. A pair of 220-ton capacity lattice boom crawler cranes had already been delivered to the Dallas-based company by year-end.

Kyle Lewis, Lewis Equipment CEO, said hot sellers will be the 220 and 290 ton crawlers and the telescopic hydraulic truck cranes in the 80 to 140 ton capacity range. “The main thrust of Lewis at the moment is to compliment the rental business with a full-line of rental products,” Lewis explained.

Lewis will set up between 10 to 12 dealers in the US, Canada and Mexico and a stock of spare parts will be held at its Texas headquarters. The company reported that one new dealer has been signed and had ordered 44 machines in a mix of mobiles and crawlers.

Lewis Equipment already holds exclusive distribution rights for the SunCrane line of tower cranes built by Yongmao in Fushun, China. It is also the exclusive distributor for the Hercules range of construction hoists manufactured by GJJ in China.

The latest agreement further reinforces Lewis Equipment's confidence in C h inese equipment, Kyle Lewis said.

Zhan Chunxin, chairman of Zoomlion International Trading Company, said that this exclusive distribution agreement with Lewis was a significant step forward in the manufacturer's plans to become more international. He added that company exports had grown in central Asia, south Asia, Africa and South America.