The distinctive diamond-shaped, angled cabins of the West-Manitowoc 111 and 222 crawler cranes are being ditched in favour of the EPIC cabin controls of the Manitowoc 777 and 2250.
The move follows integration of the West-Manitowoc operation into the Manitowoc Cranes set-up (Schad brings West back into the fold Oct98, p8). The official explanation centres on a desire for homogeneity of components and image. But some users have had problems with the controls of the 222. One contractor using a 222 on a refinery shutdown last year told Cranes Today: “We got through four computers at $10,000 a time before they got it right. It put us off Wests.”
