When Port Strategy put to Beco Bleijenberg that operators are complaining about the quality of after sales service provided by manufacturers across a wide number of fields, Lucas Aalders, sales manager of the Dutch manufacturer, agrees that in the grab market, this can be a major headache.

“Throughout the years, we have seen an explosion in the number of so-called grab manufacturers. A lot of these are very small outfits, many of which lack a production unit of their own. They simply sell in a grab and then move on. In contrast, we build all our own products and pride ourselves on being able to deliver spare parts extremely quickly.”

Both companies concede that recent years have seen the arrival of extremely cheap grabs from Far Eastern manufacturers, although are quite different technologically from the much heavier grabs that Blug sells.

Mr Aalders continues: “These are not our competitors, because of the major difference in quality they offer. Although there will always be a market for cheap products, we continue to win back customers who have also tried going down this road, only to then to have a bad experience in terms of product quality and reliability. You really do get what you pay for!”

Mr Aalders and José Ramón Zubeldia, commercial manager of Blug, situated in the Basque Country of Northern Spain, are also in unison on the current sales climate for grabs.

 Both believe that despite the slowdown in global trade, a lot of enquiries are still being made for grabs, particularly in respect of boosting unloading capacity.

According to Mr Aalders: “The majority of grabs that we produce are designed based on a particular specification asked for by the customer. We will look at adapting all design areas to meet special requests. However, in the case of smaller grabs, most purchasers want off-the-shelf products and we can generally provide these out of stock.”

Blug's customer base also requires tailor-made solutions for their grab requirements.

Asked whether it is price or technology that ultimately clinches a sale, Mr Zubeldia says: “The right price is a must when offering a certain level of technology.” However, Mr Aalders points out that there is a market for clients driven wholly by price and another for operators who want a technological advanced solution. Beco Bleijenberg avoids the bargain basement approach, instead charging slightly more for a product that is low on maintenance, easy to find replacement parts for and with a long working life. In other words, says Mr Aalders, the aim is to compete by offering better life-cycle costs.

Eco-friendly solutions are also becoming a major requirement in this industry. Mr Zubeldia states that manufacturers cannot win certain contracts without offering these, although the aim is to incorporate these while ensuring that high production rates can be maintained.

“We are definitely witnessing a move towards ever more eco-friendly grabs, especially in the area of dust suppression, where more and more regulations are being introduced by the governing authorities. Big manufacturers therefore have to be able to offer solutions such as dust covers and water proof closing, as well as entertaining any other specific requests made of them,” adds Mr Aalders.

He does not accept, however, claims that grabs can be 'maintenance-free', as some manufacturers suggest. This, he stresses, is illusory, since every grab has moving parts, some of which will inevitably experience high degrees of wear.

Blug says there is nevertheless a definite trend towards maintenance free articulations for certain applications.

According to Beco Bleijenberg, what original equipment manufacturers must really concentrate on is the quick delivery of parts, offer service support when requested and make sure that it is easy to replace failed parts and components. Mr Zubelida is in complete agreement, pointing out that Blug keeps in stock enough spare parts for the 5,000 grabs that it has in service worldwide.

“We offer 24/7 after sales service,” he adds.