Global Ambitions

Masaha Heavy Equipment is the dealer for Sany, Foton and Weichai in Kuwait and in other markets, and its new auctions are set to bring additional options for buyers to the market. Plant & Equipment talks with General Manager Mohamad Al Mulla.

Masaha Heavy Equipment was founded in 2017, and took on the dealership for Sany that year. In 2018 it added Weichai, Skyboom and Heli forklift to its stable of brands, and in early 2020 it announced that it would be the dealer for Foton.

The firm also started a rental company in 2017, and now has around a thousand pieces of equipment in its fleet of mixed brands, including cranes, earth-moving equipment, generators, aerial lifts and a wide variety of trucks, buses and pick-ups. “For any project we can provide all kinds of equipment, from A-Z,” says Mohamad Al Mulla, general manager of Masaha. The rental fleet ensures contractors can receive machines as soon as they need them.

Eid Al-Owaid, President of Masaha.

In late 2019, Eid Al-Owaid, President, Masaha Heavy Equipment, travelled to Oman to open a business unit there, operating as a rental company. Initially it will focus on cranes for refinery projects before further ramping up and expanding its rental fleet. They also plan to set up a rental business in Basrah, Iraq, near Kuwait.

Sany has long been one of the top Chinese construction equipment manufacturers, notable for its wide range of equipment and depth within individual product lines, including excavators, rough terrain cranes and port equipment. It has also distinguished itself on the international stage with a handful of key acquisitions and partnerships, including Putzmeister in 2012, while more recently Sany signed a joint venture agreement with Deutz, with plans for the two companies to produce around 75,000 engines a year by 2022. The agreement gives Deutz a 51% share in the JV, with the German engine manufacturer investing tens of millions of euros in a new factory in Changsha.

Mohamad Al Mulla, General Manager of Masaha.

In Kuwait, the Sany excavator is its top-selling machine – so much so that Masaha was number one in market share in Kuwait in 2018 and 2019 with Sany excavators, says Al Mulla. The most successful model is the 35-tonne SY335C crawler excavator. The medium-size excavator has a bucket capacity of 1.5m3 and engine power of 210kW at 1,900rpm.

Market recognition has come in part due to the use of Sany machines on the Al Mutlaa project, one of Kuwait’s mega projects, with Sany excavators, loaders and even graders used extensively on the site, notable for its hard ground conditions, rocks and harsh weather. The Al Mutlaa site, a 100,000sqkm urban development, will eventually be home to around 400,000 residents, with a number of massive infrastructure contracts signed. Seeing that the Sany machines could withstand these conditions helped convinced local contractors that the machines are robust enough, says Al Mulla.

When it comes to service support, Masaha has a number of 24/7 mobile workshops and can maintain workshops on-site for larger projects. “For projects like a refinery, we will keep our team ready 24 hours to help the customer support the customer in the projects.” They also keep sufficient spare parts at the dealership. “We keep everything here ready for the customers, and this is something they are very happy about.”

Sany offers its excavators with either a Cummins or a Weichai engine. Masaha Heavy Equipment initially specced its machines with the Cummins engine, but then began using the Weichai engine, which reduces the overall machine cost by around 10%, even higher for cranes. “For us there is no difference. Weichai is a very good engine and we get good support from the Weichai team,” says Al Mulla. However, he adds that Sany machines will soon be equipped with a Sany engine.

Sany has an extensive range of cranes, including rough terrain cranes up to 90 tonnes, as well as all-terrain and truck cranes. Its rough terrain cranes have been quickly accepted across the GCC on major work-sites, for projects such as refineries and infrastructure. A new 120 rough terrain crane is set to hit the market soon as well, says Al Mulla.

Other key pieces of equipment offered include concrete pumps and concrete mixers with a variety of different configurations, as well as a Sany dump truck. Foton Masaha also offers a large range of buses for worker transport.

Continuous improvement

Sany has been selling its products in the GCC for more than a decade, meaning it has been able to continuously improve and refine its offering with respect to the environmental requirements of the local markets.

“We cannot compare the product of today with how it was years ago,” says Al Mulla. “They are making very fast developments and big improvements in the product continuously.”

He points out that Sany’s corporate motto is ‘Quality changes the world’. “This is really true – everyone is looking for a cheaper price, but without good quality a cheaper price will be useless. Really they are doing a very good job and their product is very high quality now.”

Before taking on the dealership with Sany, Al Mulla says the firm tried equipment from many different brands, and knows the strengths and weakness of machines from various OEMs in the market. In a market like Kuwait where everyone knows what’s going on, Masaha needs to be up front with customers and give accurate expectations. “That’s why I’ll be very honest with everyone when I talk about Sany,” he says.

Bringing auctions to Kuwait

Masaha has now embarked on a new business area – used equipment auctions, the first in Kuwait, says Al Mulla. “There are a lot of new projects coming in Kuwait in 2020 and 2021, especially for infrastructure and road projects, and even for oil & gas. A lot of companies here are looking for used equipment from other companies and that’s how we got the idea for the auction.”

As a rental company, it also has used equipment to sell to the market and will be able to acquire new equipment for its rental fleet through the auctions. Equipment will be available for inspection for five days ahead of the auction. The aim is to have around 300 pieces in the next auction, from cranes to  bulldozers, excavators, forklifts and smaller pieces.

Al Mulla is also expecting bidders from other countries – Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt, Oman and even further afield – with auctions twice a year. International visitors will be made to feel at home in Kuwait, including arrangements for transportation between their hotel and the auction site. “Overall it will be very good for the market here in Kuwait, I think it will change the market,” he says.