Even the distributors admit it has taken a while, but Tadano’s Crevo city crane range has finally hit Europe, six years after being launched in Japan and two years after being exhibited at Bauma 98.
The compact 20t Crevo 200 EXC, which now has CE marking, was unveiled in the UK late last year by Tadano Faun’s UK distributors Marubeni-Komatsu (MKL). Sales manager Kevin Bell said that he expects to sell about 10 or 12 units this year.
The UK has shown a particular appetite for city cranes, with annual sales of around 100 over the last few years. Sales are levelling off after the initial flood, says Bell, but 50 city cranes a year is a reasonable expectation for the UK market.
The Crevo will be running up against a number of city cranes already established in the UK in the last three years. These include Kato’s 10t-capacity CR 100 and 25t CR 250, Demag’s 25t AC 25, Kobelco’s 18t RK 200 and the 12t-capacity Marchetti Trio.
In a market where size, or lack of it, is everything, one of the strongest selling points of the Crevo will be its compact dimensions. Chassis length is 6.7m and width is 2.2m. With its nose-down boom in travelling configuration, vehicle length is 8.68m.
Another strength is the 27m, six-section boom, which gives the 200 EXC a 2m advantage on the AC 25 and leaves it only half a metre short of the CR 250.
While its chart does not measure up to these two 25t-rated machines, Bell believes the Crevo 20t will suit UK end-users better because of its boom height and compactness.
The Tadano comes fitted with an automatic moment limiter (AML). The AML has automatic outrigger sensing and programmable boom and swing limits. This allows an operator to programme a complete working envelope, ideal in tight working conditions and for duty operations, said Bell.
He said that the AML also prevented operators from “doing the ducking and diving when perhaps they shouldn’t.”
When the moment exceeds 100%, the system automatically stops boom extension, boom lowering and hoisting up.
