IC100 results: Growth and change 2024

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An exciting year for the IC100 ranking of the world’s largest crane-owning companies as it heads towards its third decade. Alex Dahm reports.

More and bigger change is a pervasive element of ICST’s table of the world’s largest crane-owning companies in its 2024 iteration.

While you’d expect more change over time, as in the 12 year bar chart race above (look out for more on that in a future article), there is still plenty of notable change in just a year, as revealed in the latest iteration of our annual IC100 ranking. And it is good to see that change is almost universally positive, continuing the return to growth that began last year after a period of decline.

Starting with the 2024 headline combined index figure for all 221 companies entered this year, the total of 37,712,101 points is 9.28 per cent up on the 34,510,957 points of 2023. Last year the overall number was 216 companies so there has been a net gain of five companies. This was achieved with the addition of 13 new or returning companies, positively offsetting the removal of eight companies, two due to acquisition and the remainder were just old data.

Turning to the IC100, this year’s total is 35,107,721 points, up an impressive 8.43 % on the 32,377,509 of 2023. Last year it was up 6.1 % on the previous year. The top 100 companies account for 93 % of the 221 company total figure, near enough the same as last year’s 94 %.

Moving together

While nothing has changed at the top with Mammoet retaining its number one spot, its nearest rival, Sarens, is now ever so much nearer to it than ever before. Last year the gap between the two was 646,318 Index points but this year that has been slashed to less than half that, at 319,530 points.

In 2023 Sarens was 81 % the size of Mammoet while now it is 91 %. Mammoet is less than 2 % bigger than it was last year but Sarens is 13.58 % bigger. Add another couple of blue and yellow super heavylift cranes before next May and next year’s IC100 could have a new leader. 

Elsewhere in the top ten there has been more movement than usual but there are no new entries or leavers. After the top three the first change is a two place jump for Sanghvi Movers in fourth, displacing Lampson now in 5th. BMS in 6th also lost a place. Next is Sinopec, up from tenth. Bigge in 8th is down one from 2023 while Shandong Gulf Lifting Engineering retains its 9th place for the third year. China Nuclear Industry Mechanical Engineering rounds out the top ten, down two places.

Contributing to some of the above changes and others further down the table may be a noticeable increase in the number of large crawler cranes, for example 2,000 and 4,000 tonne capacity models, often from the Chinese manufacturers, joining fleets. Some of the companies with these giants are Sanghvi, Sinopec, Hareket, Tiong Woon, Sarilar, SoP&G and Barkat. All have also made gains in the table this year.

Aertssen Kranen places 36 in this year’s ranking. (Photo: Aertssen)
On the up and up

Talking of gains, Aguado from Spain looks like one to watch, flying into the top 100 (from just outside) at 54th place. Mario Aguado told ICST his company has invested many tens of millions of euros in new equipment over the last three years.

Acquisitions have also affected the table, notably with Barnhart adding three more companies already in 2024, namely Baxter Crane and Rigging, White Crane and CR Holland Crane Service. Also in the USA, Bay Crane has been especially acquisitive in recent years, adding to its portfolio United Crane and Rigging, Cranes, Inc, Crane Rental Company and Capital City Crane, among others.

As a result of its acquisition of fellow Belgian rental company Michielsens, now already five years ago, Aertssen has now combined the two companies’ numbers. In the last six months the two companies have been fully merged, operationally and sales-wise, into one company. This has contributed to a major increase in Aertssen’s IC Index from 184,598 to 224,907 this year, a 21.8 % increase has helped Aertssen gain a place in the table, at 36.

Of the new or returning entries, the highest placed was Trungnam from Vietnam, at 24. It was followed by Singapore-based AsiaGroup in 60th place, absent from the table since 2019 when it was 43rd. Our next new entry is Premier Heavy Lift from India, in at 71st place. Then another welcome joiner, in 78th place, is Guindastes Tatuape from Brazil. Close behind is another new entry, Naser M. Al-Baddah & Partner General Trading & Cont. Co, also known as NBTC Group, from Kuwait, in at 81. Making a welcome return but just outside the IC100 in 102nd place is Hellmich from Germany.

Top 50 companies in the 2024 IC100 ranking The top 50 companies in the 2024 IC100 ranking of the world’s largest crane-owning companies. For the full IC100 list click the “MAGAZINES” tab at cranebriefing.com and view or download the June issue. Image: KHL Group

See the full list of the IC100 companies in the June 2024 issue available free here.

Notes for the IC100

Companies are ranked by their IC Index, calculated as the total maximum load moment rating, in tonne-metres, of all cranes in a fleet. All companies in the list, plus other prospective ones, have the opportunity to supply fleet information and the other requested data for inclusion in the ranking. Where companies supply the full data the figure used is calculated by them.

In some cases, where no data is submitted, or is incomplete, we have based a company’s equipment fleet figure on an ICST estimate. In cases of insolvency, acquisition or lack of sufficiently recent information, companies are withdrawn from the table.

While we make great effort to ensure the accuracy of information provided, it cannot be guaranteed and ICST accepts no liability for inaccuracies or omissions.

The IC100 Index will next be updated in the first quarter of 2025. If you think your company should be included, please contact ICST for an application form. Note that tower cranes are not in the main IC100 table here because they appear separately in the special IC Tower Index published in the October issue of ICST.

Similarly, specialized transport equipment is also featured in a separate ranking, the IC Transport50, in the August issue of the magazine. Calls for entries in these tables are also issued and widely publicised like the ones for the IC100. Please look out for them on our website and in the World Crane Week e-mail newsletter, in the paper magazine and across social media, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.

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D.Ann Shiffler Editor, American Cranes & Transport Tel: +1 512 869 8838 E-mail: [email protected]
Alex Dahm Editorial Manager Tel: +44 (0) 1892 786206 E-mail: [email protected]
Niamh Marriott Deputy Editor Tel: +44 (0) 1892 786208 E-mail: [email protected]
Matt Burk VP Sales Tel: +1 773 610 9467 E-mail: [email protected]