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Palfinger is the world-wide leading name for high-tech cranes today. A name you find on all continents and on all oceans, too. Palfinger began in the 50ies like many other companies, but it succeeded because of its more intelligent systems. The philosophy of Palfinger is to keep looking for the better solution - always. Palfinger is never satisfied with what is called the state of the art. The world of Palfinger is the intelligent moving of heavy goods.
The firm Palfinger was founded as a repair workshop in Schärding in Upper Austria by Mr. Richard Palfinger in 1932.
The first crane was built in 1959, in Salzburg. The success story began in 1964, when the 23-year-old engineer Hubert Palfinger took over the company. He introduced the specialisation in the production of hydraulic vehicle cranes. 2 years later, a series of cranes was produced for the first time.
The fast development of the Austrian market was followed by the first exports to Switzerland and France. From 1974 until today, 6 new factories were founded.
Today, the Palfinger Group is the worldwide leader in the manufacturing of hydraulic loading cranes in all classes. The group builds marine cranes, cranes for railway and military, station¬ary cranes, bridge inspection units and farm cranes.
With more than 150 basic units Palfinger offers the world's largest loading crane range - and each crane is available with a large range of optional equipments. With thousands of varia¬tions, Palfinger can build the perfect crane for any situation.
The product philosophy of the Palfinger Group says the group wants to build the worlds best cranes, with the best technology, quality and good ergonomic properties.
24 sub-companies exist in Austria, Germany, France, Italy, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Norway, Ire¬land and Canada. At the moment, more than 1600 people work for Palfinger all over the world.
The Palfinger Group is an organisation exporting cranes to over 70 countries. More than 90% of the cranes are not sold in Austria, but on export markets. Over 50 distribution partners and over 1000 Palfinger service partners all over the world are familiar with any question about a Palfinger crane.
Sales Analysis
The Palfinger Public Company reported sales of over 243 million Euro for last year, which means an increase of 25% to 1998. Compared to the three other big companies that produce cranes, the other companies saw smaller increases - and 1999 was not a special year, it was the third year of growth for the Palfinger Public Company. Nearly 14000 cranes and systems were sold in only one year, and crane No. 100000 was sold.
The change to a public company interested the international press and improved the financial situation of the group. The number of railway crane orders increased a lot last year, too. 1999 was the best year in the history of the Palfinger Group.
The North American market
Though the competition is heavier in the USA, some major deals were fixed there - with the help of aggressive price politics. Palfinger has now a proportion of about 20% in the USA. Some of the products had to be specialised for the requirements of the American market.
New Palfinger products
One example for a new Palfinger product is the CRAYLER. It is a very small machine that can carry loads. The big advantage of the CRAYLER compared to other machines in that category is that it can be transported in a very easy way. In former times, vehicles like that had to be transported at the end of the truck. It was nearly impossible to drive the truck when it was empty because of that. The brand-new CRAYLER solves this problem. It can be car¬ried between the axes of the truck, which means it is possible to drive the truck empty, too.
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