With a downturn in housebuilding–one of the key markets for boom trucks in the US–manufacturers have sought to build on existing applications, and to develop new markets. While Altec and Manitex have ventured into Russia, with exhibits at this year’s ConExpo in Moscow, Manitowoc is shipping boom truck uppers to Brazil and Australia, and mounting them on local carriers.
Brent Twombly, sales manager for Altec, says, “Residential construction has certainly been a large consumer of boom trucks, but boom trucks are also used throughout construction and utilities. We’re pursuing other opportunities in industries that haven’t been affected as severely as housebuilding.
“Commercial construction and transport are still doing well, as are oilfields and the electrical transmission industry. In the oil industry, the main application is in oilfields, where the drilling and extraction is taking place. Boom trucks are used in setting up the oilwell itself, where a lot of large, heavy, equipment is used, and for maintenance.”
Chris Bratthauer, Manitowoc’s marketing communications manager (Americas), says, “We have definitely seen a decline in activity among our customers in the residential building industry. But other areas served by boom trucks are still going strong and in some instances are actually growing. These include the oil and gas business, utility work and small power distribution markets.
Manitex has looked to develop the boom truck concept with new, bigger, cranes. Director of sales and marketing, Randy Robertson, says, “The housing market typically uses a little bit smaller machines, in the 30t rather than 50t class. In that area, all of the boom truck manufacturers have suffered.
“At Manitex, our highest capacity boom truck lifts 50 US ton at 6ft, with a 110ft fully powered main boom. We launched the 50 US ton series, the 5096 with a 96ft boom, at ICUEE in Louisville, Kentucky, in October 2007. We launched the 50110, with the longer 110 ft boom, at ConExpo 2008 in Las Vegas.
“Since last October, we’ve taken orders for well over 100 of the 50 US ton machines, and don’t see any drop in demand. The 110ft boom is selling well as a taxi crane for general construction, while the 96ft boom is becoming more popular as for mining and oil field services. For those mining and oil service jobs, the customers don’t need quite as much reach, they recognise a cost benefit of choosing the shorter boom, and they get slightly more capacity.”
Altec are also developing new models. Twombly says, “There is interest in developing larger models. The challenge is to install it on a commercial chassis and still meet the bridge and road weight laws that we have here.
“Within the last year, we’ve introduced a 30 US ton riding seat machine (AC30-103S), and a 28 US ton behind the cab model (AC28-103B). We’re in the design stage now for a 23 US ton behind the cab model. By and large the smaller tonnages are stand up or behind the cab. The Altec range goes up to 38t.”
The company is looking to developing other applications for the cranes. Twombly says, “One sector that has remained strong for us is tree care. They’re recognising the increased safety of using boom trucks. The cranes can be used with a person in a basket for removing small limbs, but also as a crane to lift trunks away in larger sections. Near structures, that is a lot safer.”
Altec is keeping a close eye on new regulations in the US. Twombly says, “One thing we are watching at the moment are OSHA’s new proposals for crane standards. These will require outrigger sensors and drum rotation indicators. They also lay out five methods for avoiding powerline contact, and say that the crane must meet at least one of these when operating within 20ft of a live powerline. These include range control, proximity detectors, range limiters, having a dedicated spotter, and warning systems in the cab. Altec welcomes this, and all of our equipment is ready to meet the requirements.”
While the market for boom trucks has traditionally been restricted to the US, all three companies are looking to new opportunities worldwide. Robertson says, “While the US market is down, we’re trying to diversify geographically and go elsewhere. I’m confident the US market will come back, but it may be two years. We’ve had quite a bit of interest from Brazil and Columbia. We’re in the process of doing dealer development. We had some relationships in the past, and we’re trying to rekindle those, and to develop new relationships.”
Twombly notes that the USA’s economic situation has been a boon to exporters: “With the value of the dollar over the past several months, we have seen significant interest from overseas. We recently exhibited at ConExpo Russia, and we’ve had some success in the Middle East and Caribbean.”
Manitex were also at the Moscow show. Robertson says, “We recently exhibited a 50110 in Moscow, at ConExpo Russia. They’re quite intrigued by the crane, and its capacity versus roading weight. Their machines use a lot more counterweight and need roading permits. The 50110 can run unimpeded on the road, as far as permits go.
“We’re very optimistic about Russia, so long as the the economy holds up. The Russian market for 20–50 US ton truck mounted cranes is significantly larger than in the US. We recently signed a deal with a distributor there, Dostavka-Service, and we’ve got our first service training there next week; we’ve got someone going to Moscow to do operator, sales and service training, and product demonstrations.
“We’re very excited about showing them our aftercare and service capacities. Part of the beauty of these cranes is they don’t have all of the complexity of an AT. The chassis is Kenworth and they are supported in Russia.
“It’s a whole new world for us over there. Truck cranes are all over the cities there, but also in the oilfields. We’ve spent a lot of engineering time on getting the machines so it meets Russian code requirements and, in particular, the climate.”
US?boom, local truck
Like Altec, Manitowoc sees opportunities in South America. Bratthauar says, “We are diversified regionally and so although we enjoy a large market share in North America we are also selling National boom trucks around the world. Two notable markets at present are Brazil and Australia where we are shipping the upperworks to our distributors who are fitting the cranes to local chassis for the local market.”
Manitowoc started shipping boom truck uppers into Australia and mounting them on local carriers a few years ago, and brought the same strategy to Brazil at the beginning of this year. John Lukow, managing director of Manitowoc’s Australia operations, says, “National Crane began shipping uppers into Australia about seven years ago and we are renewing our focus, and we believe there is good opportunity. The trucks come from Scania and Freightliner. We are focusing on swing cab machines. Since the market is not really familiar with the ‘boom truck’ concept like in the United States, we will be marketing them essentially as small truck cranes.
“The National Crane 1300A has a good weight distribution for us. We will market it as a 20t truck crane. The National Crane 1800 will fit nicely in the 30t truck crane class. We have mounted National Crane 800Ds for the utility market. We are now quoting National Crane 1300As and National Crane 1800s selectively.”
Lukow explains that the company is looking to bring high standards to an existing market. “We are essentially carving out a market that is currently served by a variety of equipment. Small truck cranes from China have been notoriously unreliable, and with a low level of technology. We will be introducing smoothly operating high-quality machines that do high road speeds and offer a comfortable ride. The cabs on the National cranes will be much better than cabs the customers have seen from other manufacturers. Concepts like load-sensing hydraulics will be welcomed by owners and operators in the region. The pilot controls will also make it easier to operate. We also hope to introduce remote control crane operation and the man-basket concept to the market.
“Boom truck cranes are less complex than all-terrain cranes. They also offer higher road speeds than truck cranes generally sold in Australia today and are built with more reliable chassis than most of today’s truck cranes in Australia. They also have more sophisticated and smoother controls.”
The company started bringing upperworks to Brazil at the start of 2008. Kyle Nape, vice president and general manager for Manitowoc in Latin America, says, “We started this process in January 2008 in Brazil. We are currently offering a limited number of models: the National Crane 1400A and in early 2009, the National Crane 1800. These are specific models to compete with the local market. The 25t–40t truck crane market is a strong market in Brazil and we feel that this was the strongest market to enter.” The company is installing the cranes on Ford Cargo 2628e, Volkswagen 26-260e and Volvo VM310 carriers.
Nape says, “Boom trucks sales have been and continue to be strong in the oil and gas business, utility work and small power distribution markets. This is the exact market that we are focusing on in Brazil. The 1400A has been successful due to the fact that it has a longer boom, with great capacity and it is a light weight crane. It is also very up to date with electronics and safety standards, which the local production is not doing now. We see this product going to the small and mid-sized rental companies who do work for industrial applications. The National Crane 1400 allows companies to do work of larger cranes due to the exceptional boom reach and capacity.”
For Nape, the advantage of using Manitowoc uppers, mounted by the US crane builder on locally popular trucks, are clear: “In Brazil, we sell the product on a direct basis, through the Manitowoc Brazil office. Our customers are receiving a factory-supported product that comes with the best customer service in the business. We feel that we have the most product experience in a new market. This also allows us to mount the product ourselves to ensure a quality job.”
