Manitowoc Crane Group’s French tower crane division, Potain, is launching two new cranes at the Intermat show in May. Manitowoc’s new 600t crawler and Grove’s biggest AT will also make their European show debut.
The MDT 178 is the first model in a new MDT series of flat-top ‘city’ tower cranes. Its chief characteristic is ease of erection. The boom can be erected on the ground and with just three pins the entire jib and counterjib is in place. Plug-in connections for controls and power also help speed up assembly and tear down.
The MDT 178 has a maximum capacity of 8t and can lift 1.5t at the end of its 60m jib. The crane is available with either a 4.5m or 6m chassis and 3.8m or 4.5m cross, and with either 1.6m or 2m mast sections. On the 4.5m base and with the 1.6m mast, it has an underhook height of 55.8m . With 6m base and 2m mast, maximum underhook height is 67m.
The second new tower crane on show is the Igo 24 self-erector, the tenth crane in the Igo range to be made available since the concept was introduced in at Intermat 2000. The Igo range is designed to be easy to transport, light duty and cost-efficient for smaller building sites. The Igo 24 has a maximum lift of 2.4t and 20m underhook height. It can lift 1t at the end of its 24m jib.
Grove has no new cranes to show but Intermat will offer an opportunity for anyone that missed ConExpo last year to see the GMK 7450, the seven-axle and 450t capacity all terrain that is now Grove’s flagship.
From Manitowoc’s own range of lattice boom crawler cranes, the 600t rated model 18000 is making its European debut. The first unit has already been working for three months in Richmond, Virginia in the USA. The unit at the show will be in Manitowoc red. No customer name has been announced yet, though it is unlikely that Manitowoc will be keen to ship such a massive piece of iron back across the Atlantic ocean.
