The European construction equipment industry is confidently looking towards the future and ready to embrace the transition into the digital era, with a stronger-than-ever focus on technology leadership and customer needs, according to the latest construction report by McKinsey & Co and CECE.

“We are determined to serve our customers well in the midst of multiple trends facing our industry. Being at the technical forefront is critical for us,” said Bernd Holz, CECE president and sales director of Amman Europe (North) at bauma, the international construction equipment trade fair held in Munich, Germany, every three years. The conference served to launch McKinsey & Co’s new report on the sector.

The report’s main findings are that European construction equipment manufacturers are on the brink of profound transformation, driven by external factors such as rising competition from emerging markets, tightening regulatory requirements, the gradual growth of rental as primary customer segment for several machine types, weak economic recovery and the advancements of telematics and data-driven solutions. These trends are converging and collectively hitting the industry at once, with the potential to change the competitive landscape. The sector, concludes McKinsey, is about to shift priority from focussing on operations to becoming customer centric.