SEGMENT REPORT Ӏ KNUCKLEBOOMS
countries you will find slightly bigger cranes, equipped with all the optional equipment you can get: the region is wealthy, so price is not such an issue. In the south, they buy the more basic versions.” But Davide Catellani, cranes business director for Italy-based Amco Veba, part of the Hyva Group who also make Hyva and F.lli Ferrari knucklebooms, can point to an exception to that generalisation: Italy buys digital. All the extra safety and monitoring features that data connection and the internet of things can provide are demanded. “That is a highlight of the knucklebooms that we sell here,” he says. It is not because Italians love technology, although they do. “In Italy there is a tax break for owners and dealers who buy digitally-connected cranes. Our data connection systems can monitor how the crane is being used, give historical data and load and energy consumption details. The owner can see in real time how much it has lifted, when maintenance is due; the service people can identify potential failure, prepare proper assistance for repair ahead of need. So we started offering the connected crane for the Italian market so that the buyer could get the ‘Industry 4.0’ tax advantage: it was a boost to sell cranes with digital solutions. Now other European markets are buying them as well, but for their practical and safety benefits rather than for the tax break.” “The historical reason for the use of specific equipment might not always be the optimal solution,” says Alexander Gelis, vice-president for sales and product management at Hiab and Effer. “Local rules and regulations may also push for some types of equipment to be used. In certain parts of the world, truck mounted forklift—the ones you see hooked onto the back of a truck
by their forks, suspended over the roadway—are preferred as a means of unloading. In some other countries local rules prohibit their use, so a knuckleboom is used instead.” “There is a big difference
Hiab’s S-HiPro 230W is designed for lifting underground refuse containers in Europe.
between the demands set by the EU compared with what we see in other markets,” he continues. “EU regulations put clear rules on the use of safety devices and controls, with a preference for remote controlled units.” End-of-hook systems also vary: “Applications and segments generally trigger the use of certain equipment. Two examples of specialised cranes in Europe are our Hiab S-HiPro 230W, which is specialised for collecting underground refuse containers, and the rail-specific Hiab X-Rail 192 loader crane that has recently been sold to Spain.” Amco Veba has also recently
experienced success in the rail market: “In 2019/20 we have had good performance in railway applications,” says Catellani. “It is
a strange combination, different from the usual because they have specific requirements for mounting on a railway carriage rather than a truck. We adapted a couple of our models for that, selling to a company that is working specifically in that sector. For the moment that application is only in Europe.” Giovanni Tacconi, general manager of PM Group cranes, agrees that Europe is where the high-tech is at. “A knuckleboom can be a very complex piece of equipment, or it can be quite simple. Europe takes the complex ones. The cranes that we specify for Europe come with very developed safety devices: it is the sophisticated end of the market.”
NORTH AMERICA Tacconi says North America likes bigger capacity cranes than in Europe. “Europe prefers its knucklebooms compact, to fold up to fit into a small space on their medium-sized trucks. US
CRANES TODAY 45
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
