Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (President: Takao Tanaka; “MES”) established PT. MES Machinery Indonesia (Batam Island, Indonesia; President Director : Yasuki Kishimoto; “New Company”), a subsidiary that will produce cranes for container handling in Indonesia to strengthen and expand the crane business.

One of the main business activities of MES’s Machinery & Systems Headquarters is the manufacture of cranes for container handling in ports. As a crane manufacturing pioneer, MES holds the delivery record for many cranes for Japan and overseas. In 1961, MES underwent technical cooperation with Paceco Corp., and in 1967, delivered Japan’s first crane for container handling to the Port of Kobe.

With population and economic growth, the flow volume of freight for marine transportation containers has been increasing consistently, except in 2009, following the economic downturn precipitated by the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy. In recent years, container ships have also become larger. Therefore, in advanced nations, including Japan, demand for the renewal of previously installed cranes and new demand that responds to larger container ships are expected to grow. New demand for cranes with improved port facilities is also expected to rise in emerging countries, including those in Southeast Asia and Africa.

Against this background, in 2015, MES increased the production capacity of Portainer, a main product from the hauling equipment plant of Oita Works, from 22 units to 36 units annually*1 in order to strengthen and expand the crane business for container handling. Having determined that further expansion of the production capacity is required to respond to strong demand, MES decided to establish the New Company. The production capacity will be set at four Portainer cranes and 30 Transtainer cranes annually*2.

The cranes produced by the New Company will not only be delivered inside Indonesia but also exported to Southeast Asian countries, including Malaysia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Philippine, and Thailand. Production in Indonesia will help to reduce transportation costs and production costs compared with export from Oita Works.

MES aims to “maximize MES Group strengths collectively to improve profitability and stabilize earnings” as part of the 2017 Mid-Term Business Plan. This establishment of overseas production bases for cranes is one of the important measures. MES will strive to strengthen and expand the crane business through the establishment of the New Company.