Crane manufacturer Liebherr's North East operation has slipped into the red following a recent lull in demand.
New accounts for Liebherr Sunderland Works Limited - the company behind the multinational group's Wearside plant - show it slid to an operating loss of more than £171,000 last year, compared with profit of more than £2.2m the year before. Revenue was down from £55.2m to £46.7m.
The Ayres Quay operation specialises in maritime cranes and cargo handling equipment including ship and port cranes, offshore cranes and mobile harbour cranes. Production started on the banks of the Wear in the late 1980s and the facility has since turned out thousands of orders.
Earlier this year, how around 90 jobs at the base were under threat amid bosses efforts to secure the long-term stability of the business. At the time, management referenced continued low demand for smaller, mobile harbour cranes as having prompted the potential cuts.
That dynamic was referenced again in the new accounts, where the German-owned firm said there was a trend towards larger harbour crane orders which "needs to be monitored and considered for allocation of resources". The impact of the potential redundancies announced in January is not included in the most recent accounts, which actually showed an increase in headcount between 2023 and 2024 of 203 employees to 221.
Writing in the accounts, Liebherr financial controller Claire Webber, said: "The Maritime Division (of which Liebherr Sunderland Works is a member) operates on a rolling five year plan which has been adjusted to reflect the present global economic situation. Liebherr Sunderland Works and its sister factories Liebherr-MCCtec Rostock GmbH (MCR) in Germany and Liebherr Werk Nenzing GmbH (LWN) are set up with identical machineries, control systems and planning tools to allow flexibility in manufacturing of the product range.
"Liebherr Sunderland Works is currently manufacturing four of the group's crane products, namely ship/dock side, offshore, harbour mobile and reach stacker."
The accounts for Liebherr's Sunderland operation come at the same time it was reported the wider business secured a 10-year partnership with South African port operator Transnet Port Terminals. The deal is said to include rubber-tyred gantry, ship-to-shore, rail-mounted gantry and mobile harbour cranes and includes a 20-year asset management programme.
Transnet said the deal gave it access to cutting edge crane technology and support which would boost the productivity at ports. As part of the deal the firm has placed new orders for Liebherr cranes including for the Port of Durban.
Earlier this year, Liebherr Group results for 2024 were published showing record revenue of €14.6bn and more than €1bn of revenue in its maritime cranes business. Bosses said there were economic challenges to face but added: "Nonetheless, the group is in a good position, globally speaking, with its innovative products and solutions, long-standing customer relationships and independently operating business units. There are also various opportunities, particularly in aerospace and the mining industry, as well as on the Australian and American markets."
