PICK AND CARRY Ӏ SECTOR REPORT
FACToRY FRIENDLY
The pick and carry crane is typically small, electric-powered, Italian-inspired, and used indoors. As Julian Champkin discovers, though, there are exceptions.
The pick and carry crane originated in Italy. It’s typically a small runabout on chunky rubber tyres that works inside a factory or plant (hence it is also known as a factory crane) carrying its load around on the hook. The rubber tyres do not mark the factory floor. It has electric drive so that the factory’s workers do not get a face-full of fumes. And it has a short, strong boom because lifting capacity is more useful here than reach as the crane can usually drive up to wherever it needs to deposit its load. It is also a small machine so that it can manoeuvre between the fixed lathes or machine tools of the factory floor.
The first-ever pick and carry crane? From Ormig, 1949
Put all that together and you
have the pick and carry, which originated from Italy post World War Two. And to this day it is a speciality of manufacturers there, although it is used almost all over the globe. Manufacturer Ormig lays claim to having invented the crane type in 1949. At that time Italy was largely in ruins and just beginning its post-war reconstruction. American military vehicles were everywhere. An enterprising engineer by the name of Guido Testore saw one such vehicle that had been adapted as a crane and started producing a similar
machine, but one that was more agile, for the combined lifting and transport of goods. It was an overwhelming success and Ormig was born and has been producing pick and carry cranes ever since. Its current offerings include
vehicles with capacities from 5.5 to 100 tonnes. Its indoor range is designed to be as compact as possible for the lifting capacity. All cranes are equipped with four points of support on the ground in any steering condition, and they have the ability to rotate on themselves around the front axle, like a compass. The turning radius, therefore, is the minimum possible. The rear axle steering mechanism is an Ormig patent and combines electronic and mechanical control, managing the two sets of rear wheels to always guarantee a perfect relative steering angle between the two. This gives precision and delicacy to the crane, which are important for precise positioning and set-down of the load. Valla, now Manitex Valla, is another Italian-based manufacturer that also has a history dating back to the end of the Second World War and with sales worldwide. It produced its first electric crane in the late 1960s – which is still fully functional today. Surrey-based mini crane specialist Hird is its UK
36 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
