Palfinger promotes heavy crane + truck package

The package, which offers customers a heavy commercial truck with one of Palfinger’s heavy cranes, tailored to their specifications, was actually launched at 2008’s ConExpo show in Las Vegas.

Keith Giar, sales manager for large crane packages, explained in 2008: “It’s a new way of marketing our larger cranes. These are ‘work ready’ trucks with cranes. In oil fields, industrial installations, nuclear plants, we can compete head-to-head with ATs, and in confined areas we can surpass them.”

There are two other crane models in the heavy package, the 80tm PK 85002 and 92tm PK 100002. The packages are designed both for jobs where customers want a heavy crane for straight lifting jobs, and for jobs where an end user wants to transport a load to site, and install it without bringing in a second crane.

Scott and Perry Graham, of Lamb’s Trucking in Edmonton, Canada, work in Canada’s rapidly growing oil industry. They use cranes from the large crane package for jobs transporting and installing a range of oil industry equipment. So far, they’ve bought a 72002 Performance, a PK48000 and a PK16502. Perry Graham says, “We do lots of lifts inside buildings. For Imperial Oil, we’ve been moving 10,000lb compressors. With these packages, we can bring the compressor in on a trailer, and then lift it into the building with the knuckleboom.”

Scott Graham adds, “A stiff boom doesn’t compare: you couldn’t get inside the building. With these cranes, you can do anything a stiff boom can do, but you can work inside buildings with a low roof height.”

Another factor for the Graham’s is the size of the carrier. Scott says, “With an AT, you’ve got to close a whole street. With these cranes, you can just use half the street.” The precision offered appeals to Perry: “Because you can work with the tip of the jib right on the load, there’s a lot less swing than with a stiff boom crane.” Scott adds, “With the remote control, the operator can be right there by the load, not relying on slingers to tell him what’s happening.”

Palfinger North America’s operations also stretch south into countries including Mexico, Costa Rica, Columbia, Panama and Venezuela. Andrés Magallón is crane division manager for AMECO, of Tlalnepantla, Mexico. In 2008 he sold a 150002 in a large crane package.

In 2008, Magallón said, “We’re looking to compete with jobs where a 50-60 US ton RT or AT would be used. The main applications are oil fields, and electrical generation and transmission. The first selling point is the mobility of the crane on a truck. With an RT, you need another truck to bring it to the job. With an AT, you’ve got good mobility, but this kind of commercial truck is much easier to drive and to maintain. Commercially speaking, parts are easier to obtain than for a Grove or a Terex Demag.

“Another point is that with these, you have the crane and the truck. With an AT, you don’t have the truck’s carrying capacity. If the end user wants to carry a load, he doesn’t an AT and a truck, he can just use the large crane package.

Magallón stresses immediate costs aren’t the key selling point. “You’re not buying cheaper, you’re adding a different type of equipment for specific needs in specific industries. With a stiff boom, you need a big capacity, because you need to work at a bigger radius to get round obstacles on the job site. With these packages, it’s a lot more efficient, because you can work closer.”