New luffer from Potain’s Zhangjiagang factory

Wisconsin, USA-headquartered crane manufacturer Manitowoc has launched the all-new Potain MCR 305 luffing jib tower crane, which was jointly developed by French and Chinese engineers. The crane is being manufactured at the Manitowoc factory in Zhangjiagang, China, and will be sold across Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America.

Customer feedback harnessed through the company’s Voice of the Customer process ws used to optimise the new design, offering several improvements over earlier models.

A key improvement, says Manitowoc, is that the new Potain MCR 305 can reach a height of 190 m with almost half the anchorage points required by similar models. Requiring fewer anchorage points, it explains, means more efficient assembly and less expense for contractors ­­– saving precious time on the tight schedules high-rise projects demand.

For example, with the existing MCR 295 A configured with a 60 m jib, 11 anchor points are required to reach a height of 192.6 m; with the new MCR 305, with the same jib, just six anchor points are needed to reach 194.3 m.

The crane also has a smaller out-of-service radius optimising space on jobsites for better productivity and profitability. With a 60 m jib the out-of-service radius of the MCR 305 is just 12.5 m compared with 22 m for the MCR 295 A in the same configuration.

According to Manitowoc lowering the out-of-service radius allows contractors to place more cranes on constrained jobsites making more lifting options available and delivering better space optimisation. It says this could mean projects considering a high-rise build with just one crane may now be able to accommodate two, thus delivering productivity advantages.

Two versions of the crane are available: one with a maximum capacity of 20 t and a 3.1 t tip load with a 60 m jib. The other with a maximum capacity of 25 t and a 3 t tip load with the same 60 m jib. There are multiple winch options, depending on customer preference, including HPL (High-Performance Lifting) options with up to 1,200 m of wire rope available.

“The new crane’s increased load charts make the MCR 305 more attractive for high-rise construction, as it can handle heavier loads,” said Leong Kwong-Joon, regional product manager for Potain tower cranes at Manitowoc. “We had extensive conversations with customers and the insights we gained have helped us develop an impressive new luffing jib crane. Strength gains are realised along the entire length of the jib. There are also great savings for customers in climbing higher faster, and better productivity with a substantially reduced out-of-service radius. We’re excited to launch this new model to market.”

Basic design, wind performance, and wind tunnel tests for the crane were carried out in France, while the Chinese team completed the structural design and test verifications. Each jib position and lifting point on the crane was subject to an extensive design and analysis process lasting several months.