From graves to glazing

Maeda's crane division was established in 1962, as a subsidiary of Maeda, one of Japan's biggest contractors. It began building truck cranes in 1968, followed by minicrawlers in 1980. In 2004, it stopped producing truck-mounted cranes, and began selling Tadano truck cranes under the Maeda brand. It also builds Komatsu mini excavators, and sells these in four prefectures.

Small but powerful
Maeda's minicrawlers range from 1t-6t. The MC series, or green line, offers five models of electric crane up to 3.8t. The LC series offers three models of diesel cranes, ranging from 2.9-6t.

The company's biggest electric minicrawlers, the MC405C, was built in response to demand from European customers, but is now sold globally, in Japan and the rest of the world.

The MC cranes are compact and lightweight, designed to be used indoors or where there is restricted access. It features an intelligent, programmable LMI. The main mar kets for these cranes are funerar y monuments in Japan, and glazing in Europe.

Many of the popular features of the MC cranes w ere developed for their wor k in graveyards. In Japan's constricted landscape, these are for med of tightly arranged stone monuments. So, the cranes needed to be able to work in confined spaces, often on a slope. As the cranes began to be used for constr uction sites, the machines became more powerful, while retaining their compact design. That design, and the ability to pass through doorways, has contributed to their success wor king in nearfinished buildings around the world, for jobs lik e glazing. Going underground

While the MC series is sold roughly 50:50 domestically and internationally, the LC series is almost all sold in Japan. Hiroshi Miyao, managing director, says, "The LC series is used in metropolitan areas, which has a very good PR effect. It's recognised by many people." Junya Oro, general manager, industrial machinery, adds, "The LC series has a good reputation for safety, and it is well suited to underground construction jobs. In Japan, underground jobs are done by giant construction companies. Once they start using the machine, they keep using it. They keep renting these cranes."

As demand for these machines doubles, in response to the awarding of the 2020 Olympics, Maeda has invested in new production techniques. Tomiaki Habasaki, corporate officer, says, "We have installed new welding robots for the LC series, for the main frame. Before that, we were doing this by manpower, but by adapting that system, we could increase production."

A new model
Maeda's MC cranes have achieved success around the world. However, as Habasaki explains, customers in Europe wanted something extra from Maeda: "In Japan, straight boom cranes and machines with a winch, are mainly used. Those machines are developed from truck-mounted cranes. Japanese truck mounted cranes have evolved in a unique way. So, our MC and LC series are based on the structure of truck-mounted cranes. On the other hand, in Europe, they use articulated boom cranes, with the hook at the tip directly hoisting loads. So, users in Europe requested us to make an articulated boom, with the hook at the tip. This is why we developed the MK series.

"The MC series is used often for glazing works in Europe. So we could hear that they want an articulated boom. A prototype was shown at Bauma. It will be launched in October. We've already had a lot of orders from European customers."