FM Gru, Italian manufacturer of tower cranes, has signed up its first North American distributor.
Vancouver-based Mega Cranes has been appointed exclusive sales agent for Canada.
The announcement was made during the Crane Rental Association of Canada meeting, held this year in Whistler, British Columbia, attended by two FM Gru representatives.
‘We are very excited to have Mega Cranes representing us here,’ said FM export manager Luciano Conti. ‘We see North America as our next market with the potential to be worth over $2 billion.’
Kerry Hawley, managing director of operations for Mega Cranes, sees particular potential for the self-erector market. ‘In Europe, the value of the self-erect tower crane is well recognised, and they are in abundance,’ he said. ‘The introduction of these cranes in North America will increase productivity and efficiency of construction sites coast to coast.’
FM said that it had redesigned its self-erectors to accommodate the different construction requirements of North America. ‘The reclassified ‘N’ series 35m self-erect crane includes new road axles with air suspension for North American road restrictions,’ explained chief engineer Flavio Sgorbati. ‘New hoist and trolley packages and galvanised jib assemblies have been added to accommodate the heavier construction sites found in North America.’
The first shipment of 35m cranes from FM Gru are scheduled to arrive at Mega’s Vancouver depot in June. Shipments to Mega’s Toronto and Calgary depots are due to arrive in the following weeks.
The Mega Group is a privately held company that has been serving the construction industry for over 20 years with the rental and sales of mobile cranes. With two offices in Toronto and Vancouver, Mega says that it is one of the largest crane rental company in British Columbia.
FM Gru was established in the 1920s and began manufacturing cranes in 1963. It has a network of more than 90 branches and dealers worldwide and says that it has more than over 21,000 cranes in service. It claims to be the world’s third biggest crane manufacturer, behind Liebherr and Potain, but ahead of Terex Peiner/Comedil.
