It seemed like the whole crane industry was there. Approaching 3,000 customers from around the world were at Mannesmann Dematic’s Wallerscheid factory on 23 October for Crane Day 2000.
With regard to cranes, the highlights were the first viewing of the AC 100 (100t five-axle all-terrain crane), the AC 500 (500t eight-axle all-terrain crane) and the CC 2500 (450t crawler crane).
But most visitors were also on site the previous evening for dinner and entertainment under a big top circus-style tent. The circus theme extended beyond the style of the venue and the stage acts (acrobats and fire eaters), to the presence of three Indian elephants greeting guests. Whether they were meant to enter the factory as managing director Eberhard Kuhn began his welcome speech was not clear. Either way, the result was a distraction that Kuhn was always going to struggle to compete with.
Further details of the new cranes will be contained in next month’s issue.
