Currently, machines on the test pads at Hitachi Sumitomo’s facility in Saijo, Japan, are completing function testing and load moment calibration and verification. Link-Belt is a subsidiary of Japan’s Sumitomo Heavy Industries, but Sumitomo and Hitachi merged for crane production six years ago. Shipments into North America are planned for the second quarter of 2009.
Introduced at ConExpo last March, the Link-Belt 548 has a long-boom preliminary length of 42m-108m (138ft-354ft). The heavy-duty boom is up to 84m long. Luffer specifications have not yet been released. Future testing will involve a heavy-lift attachment.
