Let’s rewind to the late 1990s. In the West, aerial work platforms (AWPs) had already seen decades of innovation. They had the tech, the standards, the experience. Meanwhile, in China? People were still climbing rickety scaffolding, hoping they wouldn’t become part of the country’s next safety report.
It was messy. It was dangerous. And it was everywhere.
But one man, Mr. Xu Shugen, looked at all that chaos and said, “Enough.” He shut down his profitable warehouse logistics business in Hangzhou, turned his company upside down, and went all-in on a dream: to build safe, modern AWPs made in China, for China.
🛠️ From Zero to Scissor: A Chinese Original
In 2004, Xu and his newly formed team were building something no one in China had ever tried before: a scissor lift. They didn’t have a roadmap, or a user manual. They were crossing a river by feeling for the rocks.
By 2005, Zhejiang Dingli Machinery was born—China’s first AWP manufacturer. The domestic high-access era had officially begun.
🤯 Introducing a Product No One Had Heard Of
Marketing a completely unknown product in a market that didn’t even know it needed it? Let’s just say it wasn’t a walk in the park.
But Dingli wasn’t afraid of the climb. While their R&D team focused on building the machines, the former logistics team began educating potential rental customers—a market they had to create from scratch.
Thankfully, their past reputation for product quality gave them a head start. Old partners from the logistics days decided to bet on Dingli again—and became China’s first generation of AWP rental companies.
🌍 Thinking Global Before It Was Cool
Dingli wasn’t naive about the global gap. They knew Western companies had decades of R&D advantage.
So what did they do?
They teamed up—with R&D centers in Italy, Germany, and the USA, Dingli fast-tracked its global tech game and eventually became the most comprehensive AWP manufacturer in the world, covering every type and height range you can imagine.
📣 Teaching the Market, One Lift at a Time
In 2010, China had just 100 rental companies. Most workers didn’t even know lifts like this existed. So Dingli hit the ground running.
They didn’t just sell products—they taught people how to use them. They built training teams, visited job sites, and helped rental companies develop new services from the ground up.
To boost awareness, Dingli went full-on media mode:
CCTV ads, bullet train sponsorships, airport billboards—you name it.
Soon, “aerial work platform” wasn’t just a tongue-twister. It was a real, safer, cleaner, and more efficient alternative to scaffolding.
📈 Going Public, Going Green
In 2015, Dingli listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange—the first in its industry to do so.
But they didn’t stop at IPO glory. Around the same time, the world was shouting “emissions reduction” louder than ever. For Dingli, this wasn’t new. Their vision had always included green tech.
They doubled down—full electric product lines, industry-first modular boom lifts, and a wide range of powertrains: diesel, electric, hybrid, range-extended—you name it.
Suddenly, going green wasn’t just good for the planet—it made business sense. Early adopters of Dingli’s electric lifts even scored big with policy incentives.
📊 From 100 to 3000: China Rises
Fast forward to today:
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China now has over 3,000 AWP rental companies
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It has overtaken Europe as the second-largest AWP market in the world
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And Chinese-made lifts are now used on job sites around the globe
From scaffolding to scissor lifts, from doubt to dominance—Dingli helped make it happen.
🏆 Global Stage, Global Honors
Dingli’s not just playing catch-up anymore—they’re setting global standards.
They’ve won IAPA’s Pioneer of the Year and Scissor Lift of the Year. Their chairman, Mr. Xu, became the first Chinese judge in IAPA’s 15-year history, and in 2023, he presented Dingli’s sustainability model to global peers.
From local disruptor to international leader—half the story of China’s AWP industry really is Dingli’s story.