British civil engineering contractor John Mowlem & Co had specific requirements for the sort of crane it was looking for to work on construction of the extension of the Docklands Light Railway through the busy streets of south London from Greenwich to Lewisham.
Mowlem plant manager Jim Gregory said: “We needed a versatile crawler crane that was very compact and very maneouverable, which could work over rough ground and paved areas without causing much damage, and could still lift a sensible amount.” SMC’s compact CX800 Starlifter, with rubber bonded steel tracks and a rated capacity of 8t, was chosen for the job.
“Because it is so compact it could get into the restricted lifting positions often required. And its four stage telescopic boom and 360o slew gave us maximum utilisation.” The Starlifter’s minimum height is just 2.55m and minimum width 2.23m. It is powered by a water-cooled Lister Petter LPWT 4 Turbo engine, developing 37.6kW at 2,800rpm.
