Manitowoc launches 100t crawler, ends Kobelco deal

7 June 2018

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Shortly after announcing the end of a deal with Kobelco, which had for 15 years seen the Japanese company supply crawler cranes under 150t for rebadging in the USA, Manitowoc has launched a new 100t crawler crane, the MLC 100-1. The launch comes alongside a series of other new products at a company event in Shady Grove, including Grove’s biggest rough terrain.

Manitowoc and Kobelco had first partnered together on lower capacity crawler cranes, under 150t, in November 2003. This deal will not be renewed, coming to an end in November 2018.

Manitowoc CEO Barry Pennypacker, said, “After nearly 15 years, we have agreed to pursue separate ways developing our own products in the smaller capacity cranes to serve our respective customers. With the implementation of The Manitowoc Way, we will continue to deliver new and innovative quality products, on time, ensuring that our customers continue to have the right product offerings.”

The first fruit of this new approach was announced this week, ahead of the company’s Crane Days event at its Shady Grove plant, running from June 6-7. The MLC100-1 has a 100t (110USt) capacity and a maximum boom length of 61 m (200 ft). The new-model crawler crane has a load moment of 371tm (2,680ft-kips) and is powered by a 300hp Cummins 6.7 L Tier 4 Final engine.

The crane will save customers time on the job site, Manitowoc says, because of its self-assembly hook, which enables the operator to install the counterweight without any outside assistance. During assembly, the crane uses a single segment of hoist line with a button termination, which is routed through sheaves in the boom butt. This eliminates the need to assemble the boom top and enables operators to get to work faster when compared with competing cranes in the same class.

“It means a lot to debut our newest crawler crane right here in Shady Grove. Visitors to Crane Days are the first in the world to see the MLC100-1 fully assembled,” said Harley Smith, global product director for crawler cranes at Manitowoc. “This crane is a huge time saver, with extremely quick set-up and tear-down times, giving our customers more time to get to work.”

“Our customers have come to expect high performance from Manitowoc crawler cranes,” Smith said. “But even our long-term customers will be surprised at how quick this crane can get off the truck and get right to work. We put a lot of design hours into the assembly and disassembly of this crane with valuable feedback from our field technicians, and I’m happy to say that it paid off.”

Range topping rough terrain

Also entirely new at the event was a range-topping rough terrain from Grove. The Grove GRT9165 offers the longest reach and highest capacity of any model in Grove’s rough-terrain lineup.

The GRT9165 is a 149t (165USt) capacity crane that features a 62.5m (205ft) six-section, pinned boom: 1.5m longer, Manitowoc says, than the closest competing model. Tip height maxes out at 91.2m, and both manual and hydraulic extensions are available. It has been designed for easy transport, with a compact overall height of 3.8m. It also has hydraulically removable counterweight and outrigger boxes, in addition to a hydro-gas suspension on the rear axle. With all components removed, the GRT9165 weighs in at an easily roadable gross vehicle weight of approximately 52,617 kg (116,000 lbs).

Paul Cutchall, product manager for rough-terrain cranes at Manitowoc, said the GRT9165 represents the latest advances in Grove technology, including features that have been developed specifically in response to customer demand.

“The GRT9165 continues our trend of offering class-leading advantages on large capacity cranes,” he explained. “The crane’s longer reach in particular will help lifters to bid for and complete more jobs with a single crane, increasing their capabilities.”

Versatile truck crane

A new truck crane, the Grove TMS500-2, was on show for the first time. The new 36t (40USt) capacity TMS500-2 features quick set up and versatile taxi capabilities. Manitowoc’s research showed strong demand for such a model. The TMS500-2 gives these customers a lightweight truck crane that can quickly travel among job sites without additional loads, targetting housing jobs, steel erection and HVAC work, for example.

“We saw a strong demand from our dealers (and the market in general) for a lightweight, versatile truck crane with excellent taxi capabilities,” said JJ Grace, product manager for truck-mounted cranes at Manitowoc. “We took that sentiment into account, and the TMS500-2 is the result.”

Longer boom truck reach

From National, Manitowoc was showing a new range of boom trucks, with extended reach. The NBT50L Series updates the NBT50 Series, adding more boom length for increased versatility on the job site. The NBT50L Series offers a 46 m (151 ft) boom and a maximum tip height of 48 m (158 ft). With the added reach, there’s less of a need to swing a jib on the job site. This saves time for the end user, enabling them to get more work done in a single day by increasing their efficiency. The new boom truck series also features an 11-m (36-ft) offsettable lattice jib, a first for National Crane.

Bob Ritter, product engineering manager for boom trucks at Manitowoc, said, “With the NBT50L Series, we’ve delivered the boom length that our customers have been asking for,” he said. “And added reach is only the beginning. These cranes also offer three different lifting configurations, improved stability, higher capacity-at-reach and easier serviceability, all with the goal of enabling companies to win and complete more projects with a single crane than ever before.”

There are four models in the NBT50L Series: the NBT50L, NBT55L, NTC50L and NTC55L, the second of which is currently on display at Crane Days. As the model names denote, these cranes are available with a 45.4t or 50t (50USt or 55USt) rating, and they can be configured to operate as a model NTC, a truck crane/boom truck hybrid. When configured as an NTC, the crane has four distinct outrigger setups, including an exclusive, 6-m (20-ft) “truck crane” footprint for tighter job site requirements. All cranes in the NBT50L Series offer a working capacity of 4,536 kg (10,000 lbs) when the boom is fully extended at an 10.7-m (35-ft) radius, making them the new leaders in their class.

The NBT50L Series benefits from a new superstructure design that has been optimized to reduce deflection, offering not only higher lifting capacities, but greater operator confidence while lifting. Other new features include a 20° hydraulic tilting cab, removable counterweight system, internal anti-two-block wiring and the exclusive 11-m (36-ft) offsettable lattice jib. A two-camera system for operator visibility and a wireless wind-speed sensor for lift planning are also available as options.

A special NTC Value Package is also available for customers, which includes the four outrigger setups, two-camera system and wind-speed sensor all in one convenient bundle.

New to the USA

As well as entirely new products, Manitowoc showed two new cranes in North America for the first time.

From Grove, the company showed the GMK4090 all terrain. The new taxi crane features a modern, compact design that puts an emphasis on roadability and manoeuvrability. “The GMK4090 has been designed with flexibility and maneuverability as main focuses in accordance with our customers’ needs,” said Andreas Cremer, global product director of Grove all-terrain cranes. “With its best-in-class taxi load chart and compact footprint, this crane will be ideal for a variety of applications. Various counterweight options also give it versatility in roading, which can increase efficiency and return on investment for many owners.”

From Potain was the MR 160 C luffing jib tower crane. The MR 160 C offers a 10t (11USt) capacity, a tip load of 2.4t (2.6USt) and a maximum jib length of 50m (164ft). Like other cranes in the MR series, it’s well-suited for congested construction sites. The jib can be luffed to a nearly vertical position of 86° while attaining excellent underhook heights and avoiding obstacles. High-performance slewing and hoisting equipment provides precise control of loads throughout the entire working radius, all in a package that’s easily transportable.

“Like all our Potain cranes, the MR 160 C is manufactured with lightweight components to enable simple and efficient erection,” said Thibaut Le Besnerais, global product director of tower cranes at Manitowoc. “In addition, the crane’s minimal footprint makes it ideal for tight working quarters. There’s an entire customer base in North America that may not be familiar with what this crane can do, so Crane Days gives us the ideal platform to make it known.”

An artist's impression of the MLC 100-1 at work