In the world of construction, size matters. And in terms of showing off new kit, nowhere is bigger than Bauma, a trade expo in Munich, Germany.

The skyline above the 614,000 square meters of outdoor and indoor exhibition space is dominated by cranes, some of which tower well over 70 meters into the sky. The biggest machines weigh more than 500 tonnes.

After a three-year break due to the COVID-19 pandemic, up to 150,000 visitors per day are expected to join more than 3,100 exhibitors from around 60 countries at the event.

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Electric construction

However, one company present at Bauma for its 30th year is Chinese manufacturer XCMG. With 41 vehicles on display this year in Munich, its largest-ever fleet in an overseas market, the company is eager to boost its international clientele further.

"We want to expand our channel and of course find more dealers and partners," XCMG Group vice-president Hanson Lu told CGTN. "This year we bring the latest in innovated new energy machines. It's a lot of electric-driven machines, almost to cover all – you know like a crane, like an electric driven excavator, loader – this is electric driven, pure electric.”

One of the their latest models being shown to the European market for the first time at Bauma is the 4.2 ton XE35U-E, designed for landscaping or urban work. It's a purely electric excavator capable of operating for six to seven hours on a two hour battery charge and offers the ability to easily and quickly change buckets to cater for specific job requirements.

XCMG are dedicated to a environmentally friendly and sustainable value chain says Hanson, "we say green production and green product and green logistics. Even our factory is a green factory. Our roof is all covered in solar panels. That is our main focus."

Green heavy machinery

Going "green" is main focus of many manufacturers as much of the industry moves back towards pre-covid production levels, says Peter Wildemann, the managing director for Germany at French heavy equipment manufacturer Manitou.

"It is clear like every manufacturer we are suffering from a lack of components," he says, referring to the still present COVID-19 logistics and production backlogs "but everyday it comes nearer I would say."

Another concern of many manufacturers post pandemic is the lack of skilled workers for their equipment: so many have been turning toward digitization, such as the Italian company Hydra Robotica, which develops remote operated, eco-friendly robots for confined spaces.

"If you have a clogged pipe in the municipality, you do not have to send the operator to clean it. You would go with the electric robot, with the camera, with the high pressure pump and you do the job," Michele Bernini, one of the company's mechanical engineers and project managers, told CGTN.

However despite all the efforts towards digital construction sites, autonomous vehicles, alternative drives and sustainability on show at Bauma - industry experts still cite the cheaper costs of diesel and lack of reliability for many parts as a main obstacle to completely computerized and environmentally friendly construction sites.