Opportunity in Canada
Liebherr’s annual press tour highlighted Canada’s
importance for the construction industry
At the end of May I received an invitation from
Liebherr-International to attend their annual
Information Tour for the International Construction
Trade Press. Long time readers of Piling Canada
may remember Piling Canada last attended this event in 2013
in Germany and France.
This year, the event kept things truly Canadian as tour participants
found ourselves at the Liebherr-Canada Ltd. head
office in Burlington, Ont. On the decision to bring roughly
60 members from the construction press sector from 15
different countries to the Canadian offices, Kristian Koch, managing
direction of Liebherr-International, said, “the Canadian
market offers plenty of opportunities for companies and investors
from the construction and mining machinery market.”
Needless to say, I was thrilled to be invited and eager to
get going.
After a short flight from Winnipeg, Man., to Toronto,
Ont., on Oct. 16, myself and three other tour participants
hopped into a SUV and made the drive from Toronto’s
Pearson International Airport to our hotel and home base
for the next few days, the beautiful Queens Landing Hotel in
Niagara-on-the-Lake.
FEATURE
Press conference
The first morning of the tour kicked off with a press conference
that included presentations by Kristian Koch; Tim
Petersen, managing director, Liebherr-Canada Ltd.; and
Martin Schickel, managing director sales, Liebherr-France.
A theme throughout Koch’s presentation was that the continued
success of Liebherr is found within its almost 70-year
history as a family-owned business. In fact, “the highest
echelon of Liebherr Group consists of two members of the
second and six members of the third generation,” said Koch.
Petersen took an opportunity to outline Liebherr-Canada’s
operations which includes nine locations “spanning six time
zones with strategically located branch offices offering reliable
and cost-effective parts and service to their customers.”
Liebherr’s continued investment in the Canadian market is
justified by an increase in its gross revenue of more than 28
per cent over the past six years, with deep foundation equipment
accounting for 12 per cent of total sales.
Liebherr’s REMAN program, which tour attendees would
have the opportunity to witness firsthand, was a highlight
of Petersen’s speech. The program re-manufactures
Liebherr components in accordance with Liebherr’s high
By Lindsay Risto
PHOTO COURTESY OF LIEBHERR
PILING CANADA 37