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Mobile Cranes
The two-axle mobile crane sector has undergone a radical re-appraisal in recent years. What started off as a “mini crane” concept in Japan to cope with that country’s acute site and road congestion about five years ago ultimately blossomed into Tadamo’s Government sponsored Grevo “concept crane of the future”-----has now taken root in Europe.
The chief pioneer of the two-axle re-think in Europe is commonly held to be Compact Truck of Switzerland and Spezialmaschinen of Germany. Although single cab two axle mobile cranes are not entirely new-----both Coles and Gottwald made cranes in years gone by -----even rival manufacturers secretly admit to be being impressed by Compact Truck’s CT2 hydrostatic-drive mobile crane, although some question its economic viability in a world of low hire-out rates. Compact Truck is out to prove the sceptics wrong, however, and after quietly building up rental fleets in eastern Germany, sales have now taken off this for the CT2 abroad with around 130 units in current operation around the world.
Unsurprisingly then, Europe’s big mobile manufacturers have been looking closely at their own ranges. This culminated last month with the launch of
Mannesmann Demag
’s 25t AC75. Like the CT2, the AC75 has a single operator/driver’s cab, and has an automatic transmission. The crane has a width of 6.7m, clearance height of 3m and is powered by a 156kW diesel engine. GVW in travel mode is 20t. The main boom, which features Demag’s profile design, is 25m long, and tip height with boom extensions is 40m.
One major rental company to put its faith in the AC75 is Baldwins of the UK, which has ordered ten units to be spread around the company’s depots, giving each a machine suitable for crane lire and machine removal and construction duties. says the AC75 fills a need for a highly versatile machine giving high utilisation in all sectors of the market.
Nevertheless, no other crane manufacturer has yet to put the CT2’s hydrostatic drive concept into commercial production-----a feature more commonly found on crawler cranes, excavators, and fork-lift trucks which normally have a maximum speed of 40km/h or less.
Compact Truck
says the CT2 is the first hydrostatic-drive vehicle suitable for motorway driving, with a maximum speed of 80 km/h. The company claims to have developed a system that prevents the hydraulic oil overheating. Only one-fifth of the oil capacity is used for driving and an oil cooling system has been added for work in tropical climates, such as Thailand.
The use of hydrostatic technology allows much more freedom of design, particularly with placement of the diesel engine-----which is situated at the rear of the vehicle. The engine, together with the pumps, acts as a counterweight at the rear of the slewing structure.
The design also eliminates boom overhang, which is normal with cranes with conventional drive and driver’s cab located at the front. The vehicle has an overall length of 6.49m, a width of 2.49m, and a height of 3.27m or 2.7m with the cab removed.
After initial scepticism, European rental houses seem to be warming to the hydrostatic concept, with approximately 80-90 units in German hire fleets.
Most of the sales have been single units sold to rental companies. Other units are working in The Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, Russia and Switzerland. The company has also gained a foothold in the Far East and USA.
Syracuse Equipment, Compact Truck’s
US dealer, has taken delivery of a number of units and is promoting the machine at an open day in this month. Compact Truck’s dealers in Thailand and Taiwan-FLS and
I-Cheong
, respectively-----have also been promoting the machine.
This re-appraisal of the two-axle product sector has recently seen
Deutsche Grove
stop production of the two-axle 20t KMK 2020 following its takeover of last year. The
KMK 2020
, launched in 1993, was based in the original
Gottwald AMK31
design acquired by
Krupp
in 1988. Generally speaking, the KMK 2020 was bought by rental companies that wanted one unit in their fleet to be used as a taxi crane in industrial areas, capable of both on-road travel and indoor use for machinery removals.
Mike Lamb
, joint managing director of Deutsche Grove, believes that demand for this type of product has now largely been satisfied, and as a result, the market is “extremely limited”.
As a consequence, Deutsche Grove has been concentrating much of its efforts in the two-axle sector on the
35t GMK 2035
, with sales this year expected to be around the 50 mark, of which around half will be in Germany. This unit is said to have gone down particularly well in the Netherlands and Belgium. The GMK 2035 features the
Megatrack
all-wheel independent suspension system that
Grove
inherited from Krupp. The carrier width is 8.92m with a turning radius of 6,58m. The crane is equipped with a four-piece 29m main boom and a fully-hydraulic telescopic double-folding lattice boom, offering an extra 8.5m or 15m.
Like
Grove
, other manufacturers are convinced that the more ‘conventional’ two-axle design concept is far from in decline. Germany’
liebherr-Werk Ehingen
, for instance, manufactures the successful two-axle
30t LTM 1030-1
, equipped with a 26m main boom and 14.40m fly-jib.
Tadano-Faun
meanwhile has taken recent advantage of the peace dividend in Bosnia. Last month, the company delivered two of its two-axle
30t ATF30-2
models to Sarajevo, where they will be used to help rebuild electrical installations. The company says one of the biggest problems the cranes have to face is bomb craters in the road. The ATF30-2 is equipped with 25.30m main boom and a fly-jib of 12.20m.
Two-axle all terrains are prominent in the product line of PPM, the French division of
Terex Cranes
, which produces a number of two-axle units in its Quadral range, with capacities of 22t, 28t, 33t, and 40t. These feature
Mercedes-Benz
engines,
ZF
gearboxes, and
Kessler
axles.
A host of small southern European manufacturers also offer two-axle all terrains.
Luna
of Spain, for instance, manufactures three two-axle units with capacities of
25t, 30t, and 35t
. Italy boasts a number of smaller manufacturers, such as
Ormig, Rigo, Locatelli, and Marchetti
. Ormig picks out the compactness of its cranes as a particular selling point, and gives the example of Italian crane hire company
Vernazza.
The Latter used a two-axle
30t 302ttv
in the mediaeval city centre of Genoa, where it has to manoeuvre in extremely tight spaces. The small crane dimensions and steering radius ensure these jobs are carried out safely, and Vernazza has nicknamed this model “City Crane.”
Marchetti’s product line includes the two-axle
40t MG 40.2
as well as a mini rough terrain crane capable of
40km/h onroad speeds. This is the
MG 10.28
‘
Trio’
lowheight unit with a vehicle width of 2m and 19.1m full-power boom.
Locatelli
offers two two-axle units with capacities of 25t and 35t. One of competitor Rigo’s Latest designs meanwhile is a ‘crucific-style’ outrigger base configuration for its two-axle
RT200
mobile crane.
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发表于 2012-2-25 14:59:20
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