Link-Belt showed six new or improved crane models and two new luffing boom attachments to 650 customers and distributors over four days last month. ‘CraneFest 2000’, as the event was called, also marked the 125th anniversary of the company and the 25th anniversary of its relocation to Lexington, Kentucky.

On show were:

• RTC-8050 Series II, a 50 US ton (45t) rated rough terrain with a four-section 110ft (33.5m) boom, following the flat-deck styling of the 30 ton and 40 ton Series II RTs introduced at Conexpo last year.

• RTC-8060, an upgrade of the 1995 model RTC-8050. The new rated capacity is achieved by the addition of a sheave to give an extra line of rope. Kits are available for owners of RTC-8050s wishing to upgrade them to an 8060.

• HTC-8660, a 60 ton rated version of the 8650 telescopic boom truck crane. As with the RTC-8050, conversion kits are available.

• LS-108H Series II, the 50 ton duty-cycle crawler already previewed in this magazine (CT Jul00, p31). This crane features the same boom extensions as the old mechanical LS-108B.

• LS-218H Series II, launched in March with a 110 ton rating as a lift crane with tubular boom section. Fitted with a duty-cycle angular boom it is rated at 100 ton. This is an upgrade of the old 218H; the upper is the same but the carrier is bigger and lower with more counterweight. As well as having improved reach and capacity, it is designed for faster assembly. A luffing jib attachment is planned for this model next year.

• HC-238H Series II, the first Series II model of Link-Belt’s three-model lattice boom truck crane range. This crane is rated at 150 ton (137t) and features a luffing jib attachment with a base rating of 27 ton. Maximum boom combination is 165ft boom plus 150ft luffing jib plus 30ft fixed jib (50.3m + 45.7m + 9.1m).

Visitors to ‘CraneFest 2000’ also saw the new luffing jib for the LS-278H, Link-Belt’s top of the range 250 ton crawler launched at Conexpo 99. This crane now has a maximum boom combination of 200ft plus 200ft plus 30ft (61m + 61m + 9.1m). Base rating of the luffing jib is 50 ton (45t). Seven orders have been taken for this luffer so far, most of them from JF Lomma Inc of New York. Shipping of this luffer begins in February.