Reaching from Japan to Europe

Tadano created its Hydraulic Telescoping Luffing Jib (HTLJ) for Japanese all terrains, especially those working in urban areas. Tadano states that the main applications for all terrain cranes in Tokyo are tower crane build up, dismantling for building construction, and lifting up small construction machinery to the roof or under construction building. These applications are expected to be completed in a short time frame without disruption. It is very difficult to get the green light from governmental offices in Japan, and therefore it is important to be able to assemble the jib within a small space.

HTLJs have become a popular choice for end users in Japan compared to a lattice type jib.

Although they tend to be heavier than conventional lattice jibs, HTLJs are easier and quicker to operate, so are favoured by Japanese end users.

Uwe Renk, marketing manager for the Japanese company’s subsidiary in Germany, Tadano Faun, says: “On average, in Japan construction sites are more confined than in Europe and you are not allowed to lift the load outside the defined construction sites. Besides this, efficiency still plays a much bigger role in Japan than in Europe and the jobs have to be done in a much shorter time. That is why the HTLJ even is a standard feature in Japan.”

The HTLJ allows objects to be lifted beyond building edges and be telescoped into building structures with a ceiling, a manoeuvre previously not possible with rigid boom extensions, and principally works like an additional fully hydraulic main boom. “As the HTLJ is a fully-hydraulic telescopic luffing jib, which means that it principally works like an additional fully-hydraulic main boom, crane operators can choose among variable lengths during one job without any rigging effort in between. This includes that you can pick up the load at a very short radius and then telescope it where ever you need it,” says Renk.

In April 2016, half a million people attended the world’s biggest display of construction machinery at the Bauma fair in Munich. Here, Tadano, announced a number of sales of the the HTLJ to European users, including Wagenborg Nedlift, Schmidbauer, and Hovago.

“I think HTLJs are becoming more popular in Europe,” says Andrew Pearson, national crane manager, for UK crane hire firm, Hewden. “The HTLJ is unique to Tadano, we were given a demonstration of it in Germany, and we thought it could set us apart from the competition. We are the first company in the UK to own this device. We are an innovative company, and that’s what we look for in all of our suppliers.”

And this is what Tadano intended for their European buyers. Renk explains: “Space constraints and tight time schedules play a more and more important role in Europe, too. And with the HTLJ you save on transport and rigging time and costs, you only need little space to rig the HTLJ and you do have the chance to pick up the load at very short radius. In addition to that, more and more crane owners in Europe want to distinguish their range of services from the one of the competitors and the HTLJ is a unique feature that helps achieving this goal.”

Hewden exited the market for cranes over 100t in 2007. In 2013, it went back to bigger cranes, placing an order for 14 130t ATF 130G-5 cranes. It has now added two Tadano ATF 220G-5 cranes, rated at 220t safe working load.

“When Adrian Murphy joined Hewden as CEO he recognised there were big gains to be added to the business by investing in our cranes fleet, whereas the previous strategy was to replace the older ones as they came up for renewal,” says Pearson. “Adrian and the owners have put a significant investment into the crane business over the last couple of years, up to around £25m. When we looked at building the strategy for crane hire, we recognised we were held back by only being able to support up to 100t, so we built the strategy to include bigger cranes and the first step for us was the 130t and then the 220t market. When we looked at the 220t market we decided to buy two cranes from Tadano, and one HTLJ to support the 220s. The HTLJ only fits the 220t crane that we’ve acquired.”

Murk Lamminga, business unit manager, Wagenborg Nedlift says: “We have two identical 400t ATF 400G-6. The HLTJ can be assembled onto both our ATF 400G-6 mobile cranes. We also have a fully movable jib, which can be assembled onto both machines as well. The HTLJ can be assembled quickly and easily.”

The HTLJ can be assembled within a short time frame. The four-section telescopic attachment is designed to be fitted to the main boom quickly and simply by just one person, without the need for an assist crane. Attaching it and rigging it up takes around 20 minutes, thanks to the use of remote control.

When looking at Tadano’s new all terrain flagship, the ATF 360G-6’s 60m main boom the HTLJ gives a further 31m of reach. Maximum lifting height is extended to 92m and maximum working radius is 65m. Pearson adds that the ability to extend the all terrain crane’s main boom provides a great advantage to Hewden, which intends to utilise the HTLJ in the oil refinery industry.

“We’re quite big in the industrial world, we work on several of the major oil refineries in the UK,” says Pearson. “From our point of view with the HTLJ attachment we can have it on quickly with no working at height, it enables us to be a better option for the oil refinery market in being able to reach those heights.

We don’t need to use a 350t or 500t crane, we can use a smaller crane that can still achieve the heights that are required.”

Renk agrees: “The HTLJ is especially useful when a load needs to be lifted into or out of load environments with a ceiling or when pipes are blocking the way like with jobs in the oil or chemical industry.”

While lifting capacity and boom length has been always a demand of crane users, and it will always be a demand, safety is also a very important issue. And safety regulations are becoming stricter.

By attaching the jib at ground level the HTLJ also improves safety, eliminating the risks associated with working at height.

Pearson says: “A normal crane would need to put a fly jib on to give a possible hook height of 88m, which would sometimes require an additional crane to put it on, meaning that you have to put the fly jib on another crane. This is a two or three man operation, and there’s the significant safety risks associated with working at height. The HTLJ attachment can be fitted with no or little working at height.”