Most of the usual names exhibited crawler cranes at Bauma – Demag, Liebherr, Kobelco, Sennebogen and Manitowoc were all there. There was also a Hitachi crane and there was a Terex Bendini telescopic boom crawler. There were, however, two new entrants to the crawler crane production business exhibiting their machines at Bauma.
This is vaguely remarkable, given the recent fortunes of the two UK manufacturers RB and NCK. RB went into administrative receivership last year and it remains to be seen if the new owners, Langley Holdings, can make more of a success of it than the previous owners. NCK, as we report in News this month, is again on the brink of disappearing.
The two new entrants perhaps stand more chance of success, however, because they are already established in the related business of producing foundation and piling equipment. Now they are looking to diversify.
Mait and CMV are both from Italy. Mait showed a 50t crawler at Bauma and CMV showed a 35t model.
Mait is a public company with about 200 employees and sales of E16m a year. It says that its crane was produced in response to demand from customers of its piling rigs which also wanted lifting equipment.
Its first unit is the HC 540, a 50t capacity machine suitable for lifting or foundation work, powered by a 240kW Caterpillar engine. The angle section boom has a maximum length of 24.4m. Main winch offers up to 200kN of force and the auxiliary winch offers 160kN.
CMV has been producing piling rigs in Italy since 1968 and has an annual turnover of E25m and 100 employees. It exhibited the TL 35 crawler crane, which has an unusual square section boom, making it very heavy duty. “According to our computers, it is better for stress,” explains marketing director Vittorio Nepoti. It is the first machine produced by CMV using three dimensional CAD.
The TL 35 from CMV can lift 32.9t at 3.25m working radius and is targeted at customers looking to replace old Link-Belt 98 and Ruston 23 models. As with the Mait machine, it is designed for lifting and as a base unit for auxiliary equipment. It has a 2.5m transport width and can be transported with 17m of boom fitted on the crane (maximum boom length is 26m) and can be rigged in one hour, Nepoti says. With 17m of boom and 5t of counterweight it has a transport weight of 28t.
A 50t model is being prepared for exhibition by CMV at the Sao Paulo fair in Brazil in August. Depending on market response, CMV is looking to produce six cranes this year.
CMV has already signed up AGD Equipment, IHI’s distributor for Europe, as its distributor for the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
Manitowoc is busy
As if taking over Potain was not enough to keep Manitowoc busy, the American manufacturer is in the finishing stages of several new lattice boom cranes. Manitowoc’s recent financial performance seems to confirm that the US market is slowing, but you would not guess it from watching the company’s new product development programme.
Two new lift cranes, a duty-cycle machine and a foundation platform are all promised by around the end of the year.
First in development are the 915 and 1015 models, which have been designed in cooperation with German foundations specialist Bauer. The model 915 is a 100t (110 US ton) duty-cycle workhorse with a heavy duty angle chord boom. Maximum boom length is 54.9m and maximum boom and jib combination is 76.2m. The 1015 is designed for piling and foundation work rather than grabbing applications. Boom configurations are the same as on the 915. Deliveries of these models is scheduled to begin in December this year.
The model 555 – ‘The Triple Nickel’ – is essentially a lift crane version of the 915/1015. Rated at 136t (150 US ton) it replaces the old 3900 and 4000 models, of which 1,400 units were shipped by Manitowoc over the years.
It will look more like the 999 and the 888 models than the 777, and will not feature the hydraulic rams under the back mast that are a distinctive feature of the 777. Deliveries of the 555 are scheduled to begin in January 2002. The 555 together with the 915/1015 are the first Manitowoc models to feature Can-Bus technology with the Epic controls.
The fourth new crane platform announced by Manitowoc at its pre-Bauma dinner was the 450t (500 US ton) rated model 19000. It is based on the 907t capacity 21000, with the distinctive Octa-trac eight-crawler lower which acts to reduce ground bearing pressure. It fills the gap between the 2250 and the 21000 and, Manitowoc claims, it takes 82% less counterweight than competing machines such as the Liebherr LR 1600 and Demag CC 2800.
The 19000 is typical of Manitowoc’s ‘asset management’, or modular, approach to its cranes whereby fleet owners can use the same boom sections on different models. The 19000 uses the number 79 boom of the Maxer 2000 attachment, and it can also be upgraded to a 21000 if later required. First deliveries of the 19000 are planned for October.
Finally, inspired by the engineering of Van Seumeren and Mammoet, Manitowoc is in the preliminary stages of taking its biggest crawler, the 21000, to the next step – using a pair of main booms in the shape of an inverted V and a Ringer platform under the carrier to spread the load. It would be Manitowoc’s version of Mammoet’s PTC (Platform Containerised Twinring) crane and would be rated at 2,000 US ton. All it needs to do now is sell the idea to the big heavylift contractors.
Demag improves in the 300t class
New from Demag at Bauma was the CC 1800-1, a 300t crawler following the concept of the 600t CC 2800 and the 450t CC 2600. All working speeds of this machine have been improved, Demag says, thanks to the 260kW DaimlerChrysler engine and a hoist unit that operates at speeds up to 50% faster than the old CC 1800. Crawler propulsion has been boosted by 16% more power. The key to a successful crawler crane is the ability to get it to a jobsite and rigged up quickly. Demag offers an optional hydraulic quick connection system with this model, for which the heaviest components weigh 32t. Weights and dimensions of subassemblies have been optimised for low-loader transport. To aid assembly, four-section boom pinning connections mean the pins are lighter than before, hydraulic jacks lift the carrier off the low-loader, and hydraulic cylinders on the A-frame help attach the crawler track units, complete the carrier and assemble the main boom. The SWSL (main boom plus luffing jib) configuration provides a maximum boom length of 72m plus 72m. The SSL/LSL (stepped main boom) configuration, a maximum length of 114m is available.
Features fitted as standard include a camera system to monitor the winches, and an automatic track roller lubrication system and mechanical brake.
A new track drive concept is designed to minimise the amount of soil clogging the crawler tracks and an integrated tightening cylinder tensions the tracks so no special tools are needed for that.
Liebherr responds
Liebherr Ehingen announced at Bauma that it has also designed a 300t crawler which will be launched next year. The LR 1300 will go head to head with the CC 1800-1. Preliminary specifications show maximum hoisting speeds of 130m/min, line pull up to 160kN, and a maximum main boom and luffing jib combination of 78m plus 78m.
This crane appears to jeopardise the distinction in the product lines produced by Liebherr’s Ehingen factory in Germany and its Nenzing factory in Austria, which until now has been reasonably clear. It used to be that Nenzing produced foundation, grab work and duty cycle machines while Ehingen produced lift cranes. A couple of years ago Nenzing began to produce lift cranes too, but only in capacities up to 250t. Machines of 400t and above came out of Ehingen. Now we are told that not only is Ehingen producing a 300t crawler but also that Nenzing is upgrading its LR 1250 to 280t. It is hard to see that there is room in the market for both these machines, and one could be forgiven for thinking the apparent conflict is the result of internal politics at the Liebherr empire.
Not so, says Liebherr Ehingen managing director Freidrich Bär. Firstly, the Ehingen crane has a load moment of 1,800tm, compared with 980tm for the LR 1250. (In fact the LR 1300 may well end up with a 350t rating, it seems.) Others point to further differences. For example, the lower of the LR 1250 can be carried on a single trailer. The new Ehingen crane will be the quick-connect type.
A further factor is that Nenzing is now working at capacity, building 200 to 220 cranes a year. Ehingen, as has been widely reported, has just this year had a 40% capacity enhancement with the completion of a new factory hall.
Crawler cranes shown by Liebherr at Bauma included the Ehingen-built LR 1600, a 600t capacity unit that can be jacked up on outriggers and used as a pedestal crane or mounted on crawler tracks. From Nenzing was the 160t LR 1160, which is an upgraded version of the LR 1140, plus a pair of crane-based drilling machines.
The HS 883 HD is a 120t crane which when fitted with a drilling rig is sold as the HS 883 LB. It has an operating weight of 121.5t and is powered by a 605kW engine. The attraction, according to Liebherr, is the new suspension through a winch which aids assembly and disassembly. The LRB 155 is in the 60t category and is designed to be fitted with augers, hammers, vibrators and the like.
Kobelco’s new nomenclature
Kobelco had room for only one crane among all the other construction equipment on its stand at Bauma. That was a 250t CKE 2500 complete with full 61m boom and 51.8m luffing jib. In this configuration it can lift 17.2t at 19.8m. Kobelco’s offering in this class began as the 200t rated 7200 a couple of years ago, went to North America as a 250 US ton rated CK 2500 to compete with the Manitowoc 888, and is redesignated for Europe as the CKE 2500.
CKE is the new designation for all Kobelco’s crawlers in Europe. At the same time Kobelco has upgraded the lifting capacities of most of these models in accordance with EN 13000. Cranes from 300t to 800t remain the same.
Bauma also marked the launch (in their absence) of the 80t and 90t CKE 800 and 900. All are powered by Mitsubishi engines with the computer-controlled Engine Speed Sensing (ESS) system which coordinates engine speed, hydraulic flow and pressure demands. And all are self-erecting, including a counterweight self-handling system as standard. A new layout of upper machinery with the engine on the left side is designed to give easy access for routine inspection and servicing.
The CKE 800 lifts 80t at 3.4m with 12.3m of boom and has a maximum boom length of 61m. With maximum fixed jib combination of 54.9m plus 18.3m it lifts 7.7t at 15.3m radius. The crane also features full hydraulic winches with 14.5t maximum line pull on the first layer (7.7t rated).
The CKE 900 lifts 90t at 3.3m with 12.2m of boom. It has a maximum boom length of 61m. The CKE 900 with fixed jib lifts 10.8t at 18m radius. With maximum fixed jib combination of 57.9m plus 18.3m it lifts 8.1t at 18.0m radius. The 11.4t rated winch gives a 20t line pull on the first layer.
