Global major crane rental, heavy lift and engineered transport services group Sarens has announced that it is undertaking a major fleet renewal programme for its Southern African operations. This involves the bulk acquisition of machinery from respected leading Chinese manufacturer XCMG. This is part of a wider global renewal programme.

The first crane acquired for this initiative is already on the way to South Africa. It is a 1 300 t capacity XLC18000M crawler crane, which will be immediately deployed at a wind farm near Cape Town. Thereafter it will be employed on mining and petrochemical projects across Africa. It will be followed by a range of other crawler cranes, which will have capacities ranging from 400 t to 1 300 t.

Also coming were XCA260H, XCA160H, XCA100H, QY85KH, XCR55LSH and XCR90 cranes.

The XCA260H is a wheeled all-terrain high-capacity crane that offers maximum lifting power and reach for large-scale bridge and infrastructure construction, heavy industrial assembly and major equipment and energy installation projects. The XCA160H is also a wheeled all-terrain crane, for rapid transfer and precision work at ground level, aimed at road infrastructure and other transport projects as well as industrial assembly for civil construction and gas and petrochemical works. The XCA100H is a compact wheeled multi-axle all-terrain crane, built to provide rapid mobility and great efficiency for structural steel erection, urban civil construction, and mid-scale infrastructure work in restricted spaces.

The QY85KH is a truck-mounted crane for speedy road transport between work sites, capable of being rapidly set up and so ideal for agile public works projects, materials handling and general construction logistics. The XCR55LSH is a compact 4 x 4 rough-terrain crane, providing stability for pick-and-carry jobs in tough and unpaved locations, such as oil and gas fields, opencast mines, and initial site preparation operations. The XCR90 is also a rough-terrain crane, intended for stable operations in demanding terrain and environments, such as the early stages of heavy construction, or in mining or oilfields.

Sarens is also acquiring forklifts, with capacities ranging from 0.5 t to 32 t, telehandlers with capacities between 5 t and 12 t, and manlifts with elevations of 30 m to 50 m. These would also come from XCMG.

“The bulk acquisition of machinery manufactured by XCMG responds to a long-term global strategic agreement signed between both parties, which was consolidated following the signing of a bulk purchase contract and a joint [research and development] plan in March 2026 which, among other details, included the joint development of products, field applications, smart technologies, and life-cycle services,” explained Sarens. “With this agreement, Sarens seeks not only to add new machinery to its fleet, but to incorporate smart technology (such as the operational AI or the fuel-saving systems present in the XLC18000M or the reduction in assembly time of this model) to be able to respond with maximum confidence to the infrastructure demands of the global market and the South African market in particular.”