SELF-ERECTING TOWERCRANES
PRODUCT FOCUS
jobsite theydonot producedust or track
mud into the street likemanyother types
of lift equipment.”
Many self-erectors canbeoperatedby
remote control aswell. “Thisoffersbetter
visibilityon the jobsite as theoperator
can remain close towhere the load is
beingplaced, increasingprecision,” added
Smitka.
The domesticmarket
Self-erecting tower cranes are the choice
when it comes to limited space, short
jobdurationandwhen capacities are
needed inwhicha regular tool like a
forklift can’tmanage, but the strengthof
ahammerheador flattop tower crane is a
little toomuch.
Liebherroffers these cranes ina range
from1.5-8 tonsofmax capacity,
includinghydraulic self-erecting cranes
(H), simple erectingkinematic cranes
(K), andmobile fast-erecting
cranes (HM). They recently
introduced the53K that has
sevendifferent hookheights
toadapt toavarietyof
jobsites.
“Ourmain focus, to
improveourproducts,
goes indifferent
directions,” saidGerd
Booch, salesmanager,
showingup inNorthAmerica in the early
eightiesbut never really tookoff. Several
companies startedbringing them into the
market again in the latenineties and they
really started toget attentionby theyear
2000.”
Onagooddayback inGermany, there
are asmanyas 60,000 self-erecting tower
cranesupand runningdistributedby
95percent of theworld’smanufacturers,
according toBurton. That’snot quite the
casehere in theUnitedStatesorCanada.
“Whenwe first startedbringing them
into themarket, theywere a tough sell,”
saidBurton. “Oncepeopleuse themonce
theyunderstand thebenefits andwant to
continue touse them from thenon.”
Thosebenefits arewidespread. Self-
erecting tower cranesdon’t takevery
long to set up, don’t requiremany
people tooperate and can fit
into tight spotsor crowded
jobsites. Theyutilize the
“upandover” reach
technique that allows
them tobeplaced
very close tobuildings,
resulting ina smaller
footprintwhen erected.
“Theyare alsoa ‘green lifting
source’ due to their electric
motors, lownoise and
lackof exhaust,” said
JenSmitka, product
specialist, tower cranes,
Manitowoc. “Since
the cranes stay
stationaryon the
Self-erecting tower cranes
continue to find their place
in the Americanmarket.
John Skelly
explains just
where these cranes fit in.
W
henTNTCrane&Rigging
purchased themobile crane
divisionofCanada’sEagle
estCranes, anopportunitypresented
itself to theoriginal owners and their
generalmanagerRyanBurton. They
decided tobuy the tower crane sideof the
companyand rebrand it. Shedding the
red eagle theirold logowas known for
andaddinga few shadesof green, Bigfoot
CraneCompanywasborn.Andaccording
toBurton, customerswill notice amore
dedicated focus to rentals, sales and
service.
Burtonmoved intoamanagement role
withEagleWest in2002, right around
the same time theyweregetting into self-
erecting tower cranes. Prior to that, these
piecesof equipmentwere scarce around
NorthAmerica.
“The firstmachineswereproduced in
Germanyand started coming into the
market shortlyafter the secondWorld
War,” saidBurton.”These cranes started
>30
The Terex CBR 32 Plus
has a 1.1-tonmaximum
capacity at length and a
105-foot maximum jib length.
Room to grow
Two of Manitowoc’s 8-ton
Potain Igo T 130 self-erecting
tower craneswork in tandem.
29
OCTOBER 2014
ACT
