Against the backdrop of the global construction machinery industry accelerating its transformation toward green and intelligent development, China continues to lead industry technological innovation by virtue of its complete industrial chain and market scale advantages. From May 15 to May 18, the 2025 Changsha International Construction Equipment Exhibition (CICEE) will open. The exhibition focuses on the trends of "high-end, intelligent, and green" development, with an exhibition area of 300,000 m² and an expected 1,800 participating enterprises. More than 30 international forums and over 100 inter-enterprise business summits will be held concurrently, building a global cooperation platform covering the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain. CICEE has become a core hub for Sino-foreign technological integration and market development.

Against this backdrop, Dude Crane, with technological innovation and ecological synergy as its core strategy, will present a number of breakthrough products at the exhibition. In this edition of the exclusive interview, we speak with Yang Ji, General Manager of Dude Crane, focusing on its exhibition logic, technology layout, and future plans, how to seize the initiative amid the wave of industrial transformation, and exploring the advancement path of Chinese construction machinery enterprises.

"CICEE is not only a display window but also an accelerator for technological iteration and ecological synergy," Yang Ji said frankly. The exhibition has attracted more than 1,500 global enterprises over three editions, with international brands accounting for 12% and buyers from 60 countries, and has become a core platform for two-way opening of Chinese and foreign industries. It enables direct contact with global leading enterprises and buyers, and through this opportunity to showcase its latest technologies and enhance brand competitiveness.

He particularly emphasized that Changsha is not only the headquarters base of giants such as Sany and Zoomlion, but has also built a complete industrial chain from core components to complete machine assembly. "By participating in the exhibition, we can deeply integrate into the industrial ecosystem of Hunan and the central region and quickly obtain technological cooperation and supply chain resources."

When talking about the exhibited products and technologies, Yang Ji particularly mentioned that Dude's exhibits this time include a 240 folding-boom crane, which, by adding three modular devices—a brick-grabbing clamp,hydraulic graband a rotating clamp—achieves "one machine, three uses": full coverage of steel lifting, bulk material handling, and large-piece grabbing scenarios, greatly improving equipment reuse rate. "A single machine covering the three major scenarios of steel, bulk materials, and large pieces not only reduces customers' equipment investment costs, but also achieves 'unmanned' operation in high-risk scenarios through remote control. This is a double revolution in safety and efficiency," Yang Ji emphasized.

Closely following the exhibition theme of "green, electrification, and intelligentization," Dude's exhibits this time include a representative intelligent and lightweight model. The entire vehicle remotely controls the outriggers, superstructure, counterweight, and fly jib. Equipped state-monitoring sensors can display crane operating status data in real time, enable safety warning limits such as tipping and overload, and also enable adjustable-amplitude length-limited and height-limited operations, offering higher safety, integrated control, and a higher degree of intelligence.

In terms of lightweighting, these two vehicles are a folding-boom truck-mounted crane and a folding-boom truck crane developed using the latest lightweight structural design technology, reducing their own weight while maintaining a long working radius. "Lightweighting technology not only reduces steel consumption but also directly lowers equipment energy consumption, in line with the national dual carbon strategy." In terms of electrification, Yang Ji revealed that Dude has developed multiple sets of electronic control systems and power matching solutions and has applied for patents in areas such as truck-mounted crane electric control systems and electric hydraulic cylinders, promoting the transformation of products from "equipment sales" to "energy efficiency solutions."

Today, Dude has migrated crane technology to fields such as high-speed rail and tunnels. Yang Ji stated: "Relying on the technical foundation accumulated in truck-mounted cranes, special-purpose vehicles, and hydraulic systems, and targeting specific application scenarios, we have successively developed a three-platform maintenance vehicle for high-speed rail catenary, tunnel construction equipment, green port and shipping shore power transmission and lifting equipment, high-speed rail anemometer testing equipment, high-lift cantilever crane equipment for concentrated solar power plants, and so on."

Dude has always adhered to the business philosophy of "customer-centric." During the product development stage, it conducts market research and communicates with typical users. For example, in response to a Taizhou user's requirement for a negative boom angle, Dude converted it into a standard feature through co-creative R&D, and the market response was enthusiastic. "Customer participation in the design loop not only improves product adaptability but also enhances user stickiness," Yang Ji said. In addition, targeting differentiated markets such as Russia and the Middle East, Dude quickly iterated products such as lightweight series and straight-boom force-limiting control systems, driving export business to double its growth.

2025CICEE is not only a stage for technology display but also a testing ground for collaborative innovation across the global industrial chain. Through lightweight design and intelligent upgrading, Dude Crane demonstrates the determination of Chinese construction machinery enterprises to transform from "following" to "leading." As Yang Ji said: "The core of future competition lies in whether technology can serve as a bond to deeply integrate user needs, the industrial ecosystem, and sustainable development." In this global industrial transformation, Dude is taking innovation as its anchor and climbing toward the high end of the value chain.