R Stahl launches Zone 21 hoist

R Stahl has been certified compliant with a new Chinese government-developed GB standard, which requires the manufacturer to send detailed measured drawings and specifications for approval.

The explosion-proof hoist section of the GB spec is based on European standards, according to Ichiro Goto, general manager of the Shanghai sales office of Japanese rival hoist manufacturer Kito.

Although Kito sells explosion-proof hoists, they are based on Japanese standard d2G4, which does not deal with gassy environments - so Kito's hoists cannot be sold in China.

R Stahl marketing manager Otmar Buhmann said that the Chinese explosion-proof market comprises 1,000 units per year out of an entire market of 100,000 units, of which 10,000 are accessible to foreign manufacturers.

Stahl says that former Chinese partner THEC, Tianjin Hoisting Equipment Company, is a competitor in the field. Stahl partnered with the company from the early 1980s until 1991-2.

Stahl is planning to open a warehouse stocking chain hoists and wire rope hoists in China in 2006. It currently employs seven people in China.