TELE CRAWLERS Ӏ SECTOR REPORT
length; pick-and-carry capacities; much lower ground pressure; lower maintenance costs: crawler versus an automotive carrier.
j Such concerns seemed to have been justified when one crane in particular tipped and fell, boom fully extended, in Brisbane Australia. However the solution had already been conceived – equipping tele crawler cranes with load charts not just based on the traditional ‘firm-and-level’ ground but offering a choice of charts for use on slopes of up to four-degrees. It was a solution rapidly accepted on new tele crawler cranes manufactured worldwide and was another factor in increasing customer acceptance of tele crawlers However there was still work to be done. Not all customers recognised that most tele booms had been designed for ‘pure’ lift crane work and were not necessarily up for the kind of shock loadings and vibrations involved in heavy duty applications such as regularly performed by lattice crawlers – pile driving, clamshell work, etc. Still there were some brands – most notably Mantis and the Japanese – IHI, Kobelco and Hitachi- Sumitomo – which did build their cranes with substantially heavier booms and frames. Nevertheless, the fact was that the vast majority of demand for tele crawler cranes was for ‘regular’ crane work and it didn’t take customers long to recognise the benefits that the tele crawler introduced. Compared to all terrains they offered some serious advantages: much smaller footprint; ability to turn in their own
24 CRANES TODAY
The Mantis 3612; note the rotary drill rig folded against the boom
EUROPEAN DEMAND GROWS By the mid-2000s the mini tele boom crawler crane (with swing cab) had emerged as a large well-established segment finding demand worldwide with almost all models based on mini excavators and made in Japan by the likes of Komatsu, Caterpillar, Kobelco, Hitachi, Kato, Sumitomo and others. Larger cranes remained a mixed bunch made by a couple of dozen companies serving a market of under 250 units. It was correctly termed a ‘niche’ market. Mantis remained the only significant US supplier in a market of 50-80 cranes of all types and
sizes although for a short while Malaysia-based Favelle-Favco became involved in a costly- attempt to convert 28- and 38-ton Cat excavators into cranes using Manitex boom truck booms. West European demand
reached around 60 units principally shared between Germany, Benelux and the UK with Sennebogen the leading player fighting Bendini/ Terex Italia and Marchetti. Beyond the minis, in Japan IHI was the main player with 30 and 50-tonne models. Given their credibility,
Liebherr’s initiative was a turning point for the market and critical to the way customers began to view the tele crawler crane. Large crawler crane rental companies including the UK’s Weldex had already recognised the potential f
One of AGD’s
Sennebogen 6113E tele crawlers
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