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Tower crane struck by lightning strike in France

Four men on a building site in France were shocked and burnt yesterday morning after a bolt of lightning hit a tower crane in Saint-Jean-de-Luz just South of Biarritz in the South West of the country.

Two of the four men are seriously injured and were rushed to a hospital in Beyonne while the other two were treated in the local hospital.

The crane operator, 30 metres up in his cab, was uninjured in the incident, although somewhat shocked. He described the event as a massive ball of fire and a huge noise which rocked the crane as it ran down the jib and tower to earth.

There were two tower cranes and around 40 men working on the site of a new clinic at the time the lightning struck. The four injured men were standing closest to the crane.

Tower crane destroys garage in Germany

An operator dismantling a self-erecting tower crane in Germany is said to have made an error that resulted in the crane overturning at a site in Osterhofen Bavaria. Thankfully on one was hurt in the incident which occurred on Friday

The tower of the crane went over the back of the counterweight and landed on a garage completely demolishing it. Two houses either side were reportedly untouched.

The crane was supplied from the rental fleet of Kaiser Baumaschinen, which dismantled and carted it away yesterday. A police statement clearly blamed the overturn on operator error, although it has not been confirmed if any independent accident inspectors had seen the crane before it was removed.

Manitowoc sells share in Chinese joint venture

Manitowoc has completed the sale of its 50 percent interest in its Chinese joint venture Manitowoc Dong Yue Heavy Machinery Company, to its partner, Tai’an Taishan Heavy Industry Investment.

The joint venture was created in March 2008 for the production of mobile and truck-mounted hydraulic cranes – see: Manitowoc buys into China. A number of new models were launched in late 2008 and the most recent being in 2012 – see: Two new cranes from Manitowoc Dongyue.

The sale is expected to result in non-cash losses with an impact in the region of $36 million in the year ended December 2013.

Chief executive Glenn Tellock said: “The sale of our joint venture interest is consistent with our strategy to better align resources across Manitowoc’s crane segment and to maximize financial performance. Looking ahead, we remain committed to the Chinese market which remains a vital element of our global footprint. Our plans for this key geographic market include an ongoing commitment to our wholly owned Potain tower crane operation at our manufacturing facility in Zhangjiagang, which supplies best in class products to China, the Greater Asia/Pacific region, Latin American and the Middle East markets.”

In September Shantui pulled out of an agreed mobile crane joint venture with Manitowoc, citing China’s economic restructuring and the sharp decline in the construction machinery market, which adversely impacted its business – see: Shatui quits planned JV.

The Chinese market for mobile/truck cranes has been a nightmare for foreign companies, as Manitowoc’s experience has shown. Terex also struggled with its joint venture – Sichuan Changjiang Engineering Crane Company – in which it took a 50 percent stake in 2006. It was able to dilute its holding substantially in 2012 – effectively exiting the business.

Chinese regulations still restrict foreign companies from owning more than 50 percent of a truck mounted crane manufacturer which prevents outright control of the business, and 50/50 partnerships between American and Chinese crane companies clearly do not work. On the other hand there are a number of successful examples in the tower crane and crawler crane market where such ownership limitations do not apply.

All terrain crane slides off the road

An All Terrain crane slipped off a narrow country road near Saint Vallier (Charente) in South West France wednesday, recovering it is proving to be something of a challenge.

Amazingly the crane did not roll and is balanced precariously on the verge of a raised road that passes over a flood plain. We have not been able to confirm who owns the crane a mid-size Terex, but a crane owned by the French division of TransGruma came to the rescue.

The crane was working on the LGV high speed train line currently being built between Bordeaux and Tours and made a wrong turn as it exited the site and headed down the road that is officially barred to site traffic.

The challenge with recovery is that there is little space to set up the size of crane required and if that was not bad enough, over power lines are present. So a greater degree of planning and preparation are required, However a number of residences are apparently cut off by the blocked road.

The consortium building the line Cosea is working with the local community to alleviate problems, and blames the error on a subcontractor.

Crane hits car in Maine

A woman was badly injured when she drove out in front of a crane yesterday in Chelsea, Maine.

Police say that Sally Gousse, 76, pulled out of her driveway and into the path of the truck crane, owned by W. H. Green and Sons of nearby Vassalboro. The crane’s driver Eugene Green swerved to try and avoid her but ended up striking the driver’s side of the car.

The car was totalled while the crane was barely damaged.

All terrain crane falls off truck

An All Terrain crane slipped off a low loader in Bootle, near Liverpool, UK, Yesterday. No one was hurt in the incident.

The crane, a Grove GMK, owned by Roadcraft Crane and Plant Hire was in the street outside of the crane company’s premises, where it looks as though it was in the process of being loaded or unloaded. The crane came to rest against the side of a building, stopping it from tipping all the way over.