CITY CRANES Ӏ SECTOR REPORT


Low rear overhang lets Kato’s city crane remove AC units in Liverpool


and close relationship with


Liebherr. “We have quarterly meetings where we discuss crane requirements and design,” says Peter Gibbs, CEO at Ainscough. The first LTC 1050-3.1E is currently based at Ainscough’s Bristol depot. “We see a lot of opportunity


for them,” Gibbs continues. “It's a city crane so it's a little bit narrower, to get in and out of places that others wouldn't fit, and its lifting power is electric. This is key as our company is carbon neutral. We are the first mobile crane company in the world to achieve this. We were formally audited as of October 2023 ¬– so we’ve maintained this status for over a year now. “The LTC 1050-3.1E is another step along this sustainability road. Our first machine has already completed a job in Bristol (see box). Since it is emissions-free, with far less noise, we see a lot of opportunity for it working inside buildings, getting into warehouses and so on.


“In addition, EDF has recently


put the roof on the reactor building for Hinckley Point 3 nuclear power station, which is near to where the crane is based, so work inside there would also be a very suitable project for it. The second machine is destined for London, and there are clients there for whom noise abatement is as important as anything else.”


MOBILITY MATTERS There are now large crawler cranes that are entirely powered by battery. The city crane, however, is a plug-in hybrid with both a diesel engine and an electric motor but with no battery on board. It might


50 CRANES TODAY


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69