Eastern treasures

When DP World was asked whether it would buy ZPMC spreaders as part of a new crane order, global operations senior vice president Andrew Adam says it might, but only if quality, technical compliance, unit price, cost of ownership and global support were the same as that of its current dedicated spreader manufacturers.

APM Terminals’ Tom Boyd also sets out conditions before APMT would source an all-Chinese spreader. “First it would have to meet our operational and technical criteria, then we would evaluate it on a cost versus reliability basis. We would do this anyway, irrespective of origin,” he says.

Meanwhile, an Asian terminal operator confirms to PS that ZPMC does like to promote its own spreaders, where possible. “If their spreaders meet our operational requirements and are cost-effective, we would consider using them. In any appraisal, life cycle costs and reliability are key factor; technology comes third,” says the spokesperson.

Another Asian operator notes that various factors are taken into consideration when researching spreader manufacturers, but that “upfront price is certainly important”.

Despite sourcing cranes from many manufacturers, ICTSI concedes that it would certainly consider acquiring ZPMC spreaders “if the price was significantly cheaper than others on the market”. The ZPMC spreader, notes the company’s Brian Oakley, does incorporate components sourced from international companies, so should not be seen as being wholly Chinese in origin.