CranesBlog | Page 3 of 45 | Mobile cranes and Crawler cranes

First Grove for Horizon

Falkirk, Scotland based Horizon Reinforcing and Crane Hire has taken delivery of its first Grove crane – a 300 tonne GMK6300L All Terrain.

The six-axle GMK6300L features a seven section, 80 metre main boom and a 29 metre bi-fold swingaway extension an boasts a 120 metre maximum tip height. Features include Megatrak independent suspension and all-wheel steering.

Run by the Dougall family, Horizon has a fleet of 12 cranes which is topped by the GMK6300L. Established in 1973 the company also deals in the steel reinforcing industry.

Dropped beam proves fatal

A 20 metre steel I-beam slipped from a mobile crane in Barra Mansa to the south of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil last month killing an elderly pedestrian.

The beam – part of a steel building – was being lifted by a Sany truck crane owned by the rental company Jocar, when its slipped out of the slings and dropped into the street below. It landed on a woman, Orecina Marta de Souza, 79, killing her instantly.

The incident occurred on Friday the 13th as she walked past the construction site – a hotel – with her son when it happened. He was also injured in the incident.

Sany rebrands in Europe

Sany Germany, the wholly owned subsidiary of Chinese crane and equipment manufacturer Sany, has rebranded the business as Sany Europe, changing its logo and launching a new website.

The company says the change is designed to better reflect its presence in Europe, where it is represented in 13 countries – mainly by exclusive distributors.

Sany Europe managing director Bart Decroos, said: “The name change is a take-off for a new era. It just didn’t reflect who we are any more, and definitely not who we want to be. Therefore we’ve taken this action. We’ve also seized this opportunity to improve our corporate identity to strengthen further our brand recognition.”

We have just received confirmation that the company will no longer be exhibiting at this year’s Intermat exhibition. It has cancelled its provisional booking in the external area, where it has exhibited in the past two shows.

Manitowoc completes VPC-MAX testing

Manitowoc has completed the testing of its 650 tonne MLC650 crawler crane fitted with its variable position counterweight extension (VPC-MAX) attachment.

Increasing the MLC650’s capacities from 650 to 700 tonnes, the VPX-MAX features additional counterweight and a beam that automatically extends the counterweight beyond the rear of the crane depending on the weight of the load. As part of the load testing the crane boom was positioned in a number of positions, including over one corner of the crane in order to apply the maximum level of stress through the structure.

Dustin Soerens, Manitowoc marketing manager, said: “We attached hundreds of strain gauges to the MLC650 and picked a number of loads in the test yard to test its capacity with the VPC-MAX attachment. The testing went very well with no surprises. No changes are needed on the crane, as it performed superbly. We’re well on our way to releasing this innovative crane to the global market.”

Manitowoc’s VPC-MAX attachment provides capacities similar to wagon/tray mounted attachments, but requires fewer components and assembly steps, which helps reduce setup times and transportation costs.

New 145t RT for Ravago

Phillipines based crane and access rental company Ravago Equipment Rentals has taken delivery of a new three axle 145 tonne Tadano GR-1450EX Rough Terrain crane.

The new crane boasts a 61 metre six section boom with a 10.3 to 18 metre bi-fold swingaway jib, 16.1 metres long and 3.3 metres wide, it weighs 91 tonnes fully rigged and can travel at 15kph.

Ravago is one of the largest crane rental companies in the Philippines, with a fleet of All Terrain truck and Rough Terrains up to 700 tonnes, it also offers a wide range of aerial work platforms, telehandlers and general equipment.

Liebherr provides rescue sheets

Liebherr has started to provide rescue sheets for its mobile cranes in order to assist with crane recovery following an incident.

All Liebherr LTM and LTC cranes which comply with stage 3b or higher emissions will now come with a rescue sheet as standard. Available separately and located behind the driver’s seat, the rescue sheet provides detailed information about the structure of the crane and its cab as well as the best places to cut the bodywork open in order to free a trapped operator. It also provides information on the locations, volumes and hazard classes of the crane’s fuel and oil.

Rescue sheets have been available for new cars, commercial vehicles and trucks for some time now, although cranes are a niche product and relatively unknown to fire and emergency services. Liebherr said the aim of the rescue sheets is to enable the fast rescue of passengers and the safe recovery of the crane following an incident.