Manitowoc is showing its newest lattice boom crawler crane to customers this month – the 250t (275 US ton) rated 999.
The new crane comes between the 209t (230 ton) model 888 and the 272t (300 ton) model 2250.
Unusually for Manitowoc, it kept news of this crane under wraps during development. It held a dinner for customers and the press at the Ritz Hotel in Paris on the eve of Intermat to announce the launch of the 999. The crane was not at the show but will be shown to customers at the end of this month near Manitowoc’s factory in Wisconsin. Deliveries begin in July and more than 50 units have so far been ordered.
The 999 has been designed firmly with European, as well as American, customers in mind.
“Before we designed the 999, we interviewed a wide range of customers from key markets worldwide,” explained marketing director Mark Marzion. “We then incorporated their most wanted features into its design. As a result, the 999 is truly a crane for the global market.
“For example, each shipping module meets the 3m width so important in Europe, and also conforms with the weight requirements for easy trucking in North America. All of the boom sections and counterweights fit on the most popular European drop-deck trucks. As a result the 999 can be shipped with maximum boom and fixed jib on a minimum number of trucks.”
An unusual feature of the 999, and it will be interesting to see if the market dictates others to follow suit, is that the crawler tracks are interchangeable – not just with the crawler tracks on other 999 units, but between left and right. In other words, there is no specific left or right crawler track.
Other features include steel strap boom suspension, grooved barrels on the rope drums and a new reinforced rotating bed to enable a Max-er attachment to be developed in the future. A ringer attachment is also an option. Like all Manitowoc crawlers of recent years, it features the now-familiar EPIC controls and FACT connectors on the boom, crawlers and counterweights.
The new crane has been designed with #82 boom and rigging but it will also take the #22 boom of the 888, 4000W and 4100W. It can also use the same fixed jib as the 888 and the same luffing jib as the 888 and the 777.
The 999’s maximum boom and jib combinations include: 88.4m of heavylift boom; 94.5m of long reach boom; 112.8m of boom and luffing jib combination; and 131.1m of boom, fixed jib and luffing jib combination. It is powered by a 291kW Caterpillar 3176 diesel engine.
Manitowoc sales and marketing vice president Larry Weyers paid tribute to the ‘999 navigators’ that helped the company design the machine to meet customer requirements both in Europe and North America. The ‘999 navigators’ were named as: All Erection, which has placed the biggest order for the new crane, Marino, Maxim and Essex – all from the USA; Weldex of the UK; and HD Cranes, based in the Netherlands, which has ordered five units. The presence of HD on the list is noteworthy because until now it was a Kobelco distributor. Among the cranes that the 999 competes with (along with the Liebherr LR 1250 and the Link-Belt LS 278H) is the Kobelco 7200 (which is designated CK 2500 in North America).
Weyers said that Manitowoc was planning to appoint HD as its sales distributor for the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Ireland and the UK. Parts and service support for the UK and Ireland will remain the responsibility of Manitowoc Europe.
