Malaysian dealer and end user tour Maeda’s Nagano crane plant

Sin Loy Heng and TH Tong Heng put the CC1908 and MC815 through their paces in Nagano

Maeda hosted its Malaysian dealer Sin Loy Heng Engineering and one of its customers at the Nagano factory in October, combining a tour of the crane assembly line with hands-on operation of the CC1908 crawler crane and MC815 spider crane.

Factory and assembly line

The visit took place on 18 October. Sin Loy Heng Engineering Sdn. Bhd., which distributes Maeda mini cranes in Malaysia, brought TH Tong Heng Machinery Sdn. Bhd., one of its customers, to the manufacturer’s plant.

After a company presentation the group was taken through the factory, where Maeda reported that the visitors followed the crane assembly process closely. The Nagano works builds the full range: MC-series spider cranes, MK-series knuckle boom cranes and the CC-series mini crawler cranes.

Seat time on the machines

The more useful part of the programme for a dealer and end user was the chance to operate machines themselves. The visitors ran the CC1908 mini crawler crane and the MC815 spider crane, Maeda’s largest spider crane model, and the manufacturer said their interest centred on how the machines handled.

That emphasis is telling. In the mini crane sector the specification sheets across competing brands are often close, and buying decisions are frequently settled on control feel, remote responsiveness, outrigger setting time and how predictably the load moves at low speed. A factory visit that puts the customer on the controls is a more direct sales argument than a brochure.

Maeda said it hoped the meeting would support further growth in the partnership between the companies. The visit also included a commemorative exchange of gifts and a stay in Nagano Prefecture.