Features Archive
Archive of features from the global cranes industryFeatures By Date
August 2019
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High desert tower cranes
Mining has been a key feature of the Chilean economy since the earliest days. Julian Champkin finds that lifting methods have become uniquely adapted to the conditions of South America’s Southern Cone, with tower cranes operating for decades in the Atacama desert and beyond.
Blades slicing through mountains
To move more than 900 wind farm components over 200km through Chile, ALE had to carefully develop a route, including cutting into a mountain.
Brazil holds its breath
Brazil is poised to recover from economic and political crisis. Julian Champkin spoke to Paulo Carvalho of crane company Locabens
From rough to level ground
Transporting large rough terrain cranes can be challenging, but manufacturers designed their cranes in a way to aid their customers. Sotiris Kanaris reports.
Looking at your self
As the market for self-erectors has been buoyant in recent years, manufacturers have invested in enhancing and updating their ranges. Sotiris Kanaris reports.
Looking west
Turkish manufacturers have for a long time built high capacity, rear axle mounted, knucklebooms for domestic and global customers. Now one, Hidrokon, is looking to the EU as it develops fully-foldable cranes. Will North joined dealers Hidrokon Europe as they visited the company.
Ain't no mountain high enough a palfinger
A Palfinger crawler-mounted knuckleboom PCC 115.002 was used at 2,000m above sea level, to remove the old Schlossalmbahn lift supports in the Gastein Valley, Austia.
July 2019
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Skidding a 1760t module
Fagioli was contracted for the weighing, load out and load in operation of a 1,760t manifold module in Kazakhstan.
Mega jack reaches the places a crane can't reach
ALE has completed the jack-up, skidding and load-out of an offshore platform for the third development stage of the Vladimir Filanovsky oil field, the largest in the Russian section of the Caspian Sea.
A long job ends in Louisiana
Mammoet has announced the successful technical scope completion at the Sasol LCCP project in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Lifting 20,000t on water
The world’s biggest semi-submersible crane vessel (SSCV) is set to blaze a trail when it enters into service in the coming months, armed with the strongest pair of revolving cranes for offshore oil, gas and renewable energy installation and decommissioning jobs.
An uncommon market
The Vertikal Days show, in May this year, showed a UK crane market that is far from on hold. Julian Champkin found an air of optimism and very many new introductions.
Designing the crane industry
As Hans-Dieter Willim retires from his position as head of design at Liebherr Ehingen, Stuart Anderson interviews the man who has for forty years played a key role in shaping the modern mobile crane industry.
The long and the short of it
At this year’s Bauma, Manitowoc launched a series of long boom versions of its cranes. It’s not an entirely novel strategy, but one that the US firm has followed across more of its range than any other. Will North asks the big four global all terrain manufacturers how they meet different demands for reach and capacity.
Automated lifting
Construction company Multiplex has enhanced site safety on the New Museum for Western Australia site in Perth’s CBD with Roborigger, an innovative automated lifting device.
June 2019
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Italian and truck mounted
Italian truck-mounted hydraulic crane manufacturer Idrogru presented at Bauma the new KT160.36. Sotiris Kanaris spoke to sales manager Roberto Vezzelli about new products and the company strategy.
Twin booms
At Bauma, Marchetti's Marcello Maestri talked to Will North about how a small manufacturer can meet a wide range of customer demands.
70 years
Dutch crane hire firm Nederhoff celebrates seven decades in the lifting business this year. Hans van Vliet, one of the company's project engineers, described its origins and history to Will North.
Winning ticket
ESTA, the European association for special transport and mobile cranes, supports best practice and safe working in a number of ways, including bringing together industry experts to develop best practice guidance; through its awards each year; and with its work to develop a European Crane Operators' Licence, ECOL. Here, in pictures, we look at some of the winners of this years awards, and, in the text, get an update on ECOL's development.
Let’s get digital
Knuckleboom manufacturers exhibited numerous new products at Bauma. Julian Champkin found that there is increasing technical sophistication in these machines.
