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.
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 it is 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.
Details of the 999 will be included in a feature on crawler cranes in next month’s issue.
