32 cranes & access April 2009

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manners - and put them into aneven more compact package closeto that of a Rough Terrain crane.Surely the recipe for a sure-fire winner?

Well yes and no. The AT has always

been more expensive to buy, morecomplicated to repair and morecostly to run than a regular truckcrane and the City crane tends tobe more expensive again.

At the smallest end of the market,the rental rates hardly justify thepurchase price or running costs of atwo axle 20 or 30 tonne All Terraincrane. However, the three axle 40to 50 tonne sector, includingGrove's new 45 tonne CityGCK3045, may well have the rightcombination of price, size andrunning costs. (See more detailson the GCK3045 on page 36)

Until recently, Terex Demag was theonly company amongst the threemajors with City cranes, but hastrimmed its line-up by dropping itsfour axle models and focusing onthe 30 tonne two axle AC30 Cityand the 40 tonne three axle AC40

The ultra compact two axle Citycrane almost vanished from theEuropean market after Japanesemanufacturers stopped exportingthem to Europe for regulatoryreasons. While further up the sizerange Terex Demag, the only majormanufacturer offering a range ofCity cranes, has two models, a 30tonne two axle and 40 tonne threeaxle unit, while Liebherr producesthe three axle 55 tonne LTC1055-3.1compact crane with hydrostaticdrive. However, this month sees asignificant new product launch inthe sector, with the first ever Citycrane from Grove.

So does Grove sense a niche sectorthat is set to grow and exploit orhas the City crane had its day?Cranes & Access investigates aswell as rounding up the latest AllTerrain cranes on the market.

The whole concept of the City cranemakes sense. Take all the benefitsof the All Terrain crane - compactdimensions, manoeuvrability, allwheel drive and steer, an ability topick and carry and good road

City. Liebherr has always maintainedthat it did not need (or see theadvantages of the 'City crane' concept)saying that its best selling crane -the 55 tonne LTM1055-3.1 whichhas sold more than 1,000 unitssince its launch in 2001 - “is compact,extremely manoeuvrable and hasthe flexibility to satisfy the vastarray of requirements in theEuropean market.”

For Grove its GCK3045 is a jointventure into new territory. Designedand built in co-operation with Kobelco,which pioneered the small city typecranes, with the original two axle,

City comeback?While sales of larger capacity All Terrain cranes usedon infrastructure projects have remained reasonablybuoyant, sales of the smallest ATs have started to feelthe force of the current downturn. However, some ofthe decline is due to the growth in alternative liftingmachinery such as spider and mini cranes, trailer andaluminium truck cranes, large knuckle boom loadercranes, larger telescopic handlers and even the returnof the traditional truck mounted crane.

A NMT City cranelifts an aircraft engine

into position at Luton Airport

Designed and built in co-operationwith Kobelco, the Grove GCK3045 isthe company's first City crane.

Terex Demag now has atwo City crane line up,the AC30 and AC40 City

seven tonner in the late 80s. Itdeveloped the concept, along withKato and Tadano, up to about 25tonnes on two axles, but has neverbuilt a three axle model before.

A tough design challengeThe reason why many manufacturersshy away from this type of crane isthat it is much more difficult to designand manufacture than it at first appears.

High quality steels and closetolerances are required to make thesix or eight section booms performas well as the longer four and fivesection booms fitted to regular ATsand it is not easy keeping theweight down. Add to this the smalladditional selling price premium andit is easy to see why it may not beworth the development investment.

Grove has cleverly collaborated withKobelco to benefit from its wellproven experience and expertise inbuilding compact City cranes for theJapanese market. In an article in aCity crane feature in Cranes&Accesstwo years ago we surmised that ajoint venture with a big namebacker might capitalise on the latentdemand for the small City crane,particularly in the UK. Althoughmany were hoping that this cranewould be in the 20-30 tonne capacityrange, it will be interesting to see if the 45 tonne Grove can carve outa decent market share for itself as well as expanding the overallmarket.

Two new LiebherrsLiebherr has two new cranes - the100 tonne LTM 1000-4.1 which waslaunched at the end of last year andthe soon to be launched 350 tonne,LTM 1350-6.1.

LTM 1100The LTM 1100-4.2 is the successorof the LTM 1100-4.1, which datesback to 2003. Its 60 metre boomlength is eight metres longer thanthe old model of which Liebherr hassold 350 units. It also has 30 percentbetter lift capacities particularly atfull boom extension. Liebherr saysits 10.2 tonne lift at 60 metres isthe best in its class and thereforeclaims that it takes the crown asthe strongest four axle AT craneon the market.

The crane's six section boom usesthe Telematik rapid-cycle telescopesystem. Two seven metre longlattice sections offer an elevatedpivot point for the 10.8 to 19 metrelong swing-away extension, givinga 91 metre hook height with up to58 metres radius. The swing-awaycan also be mechanically offset atangles of 0, 20 and 40 degrees andis available with a hydraulic luffingoption. For two-hook operation a 2.9metre long assembly jib and boomnose are also available.

With a 10.6 metre long, 2.75 metrewide chassis the LTM1100 iscompact. The turning or ratherclearance radius, measured over thecarrier cab is just 8.3 metres, whilethe tail-swing of the 28.2 tonnemaximum counterweight is justover four metres, with an outriggerspread is seven metres tail swingbeyond the cranes footprint ismodest. Where site conditionsdictate, a reduced outrigger widthof five metres is possible.

Liebherr makes much of the airactivated disk brakes that it is fittingto all new All Terrain cranes,

claiming benefits of greater brakingpower, longer service life and fast,simple replacement of the brakepads, which are equipped with wearindicators. The company also claimsthat its active rear axle steering,with its five different steeringprograms reduces tyre wear.

The 350 kW (476 hp) dieselpowers a 12 speed ZF-AS-Tronictransmission with two-stage transfergearbox providing minimum creepspeeds for final manoeuvring.The separate superstructure enginefeatures electric load sensing controlproviding four simultaneousfunctions without cross interference.Liebherr's new crane control systemLiccon2, includes a number ofadditional functions, with a morepowerful computer, colour displayand brighter, clearer in-cab monitor.Touch screen displays are alsoincorporated for easy selectionof some functions.

Bluetooth remoteThe new crane also incorporatesLiebherr's increasingly popular BTTBluetooth terminal, for setting upthe crane. The remote controller cannow operate the hydraulic erectiondevice for assembling theswing-away jib as well as the boomelevation and hoist for hooking andunhooking the hook block from thefront bumper.

April 2009 cranes & access 33

all terrain cranesc&aThe Italian alternative

The company currently offers twoCity cranes with capacities of 20and 40 tonnes respectively.

Its two axle ATC 20, which hasbeen around for several years,is a very compact machine whichoffers 20 tonnes lift capacity and34 metres lift height. The companyexpanded the range with theintroduction of the two axle ATC40 which was seen for the firsttime at Bauma 2007. The unithas a seven section, 35 metreboom is powered by a 220kW

Historically, Italy has always hadan affinity with small, compactcranes however today, there areonly a few manufacturers leftproducing road going mobile cranes.One manufacturer that has beenworking hard on the small citycrane concept is Locatelli.Unfortunately the company has onlyhad limited success on the exportmarket with this product. In the UKcustomers have remained wary of amanufacturer that has had challengesmaintaining a permanent presencein the market.

Most of the major All Terrain crane manufacturers -Liebherr, Manitowoc and Tadano - have announced newmodels recently, with capacities from 100 to 350 tonnes.

Latest All Terrainround-up

The compact Locatelli ATC20 has been around for several years butoffers 20 tonnes capacity and 34 metres lift height.

The LTM 1100 4.2 has a 60 metre boomeight metres longer than the model it replaces.

Mercedes engine giving a 70kmper hour road speed.

A solid section bi-fold swingawayjib extends the tip height to amaximum of 50 metres all ofwhich can be carried on boardwithin standard 12 tonne axleweights. The crane measuresjust over eight metres long to theboom tip and is 2.54 metres wide.Outriggers have multiple extensionpositions with a 6.2 metre squaremaximum outrigger footprint.A key feature of both Locatellimodels is the fact that they offera set of forks and/or a fullyintegrated work platform optionfor additional versatility.

The MGIAnother Italian crane manufacturerproducing City cranes is new company MGI. Some will rememberthe Mister Gru City crane that firstappeared at SAIE in 2005. However,this company has acquired byFiorenzo Flisi, one of the founders of Oil&Steel, who quit and sold hisshares in the business.

The Mister Gru name has gone, ashave the smaller models (originally20 tonnes and then 25 tonnes) aswell as the Ecopower conceptwhich combined diesel and batteryelectric power. The new MGIMG35HS City crane, a 35 tonnecapacity unit, is a more conventionaland possibly more practical, dieselpowered crane that retains its sixsection 25.9 metre main boom plusa four metre telescopic luffingswingaway, which offsets up toaround 80 degrees and can handleup to 3.5 tonnes. The crane is alsoavailable with an EN280 fully integrated work platform and radioremote controls.

The Mister Gru name has gone -replaced by MGI and this35 tonne MG 35 HS.

April 2009 cranes & access 35

Liebherr's latest 350 tonneLTM1350-6.1 has a 70 metre main boom

Grove's new GMK5110-1 has a host of new featuresfrom the new Mercedes designed commercial

carrier cab to the two speed transfer caseon the transmission for good

on-site creep speeds.

The new 130 tonne Tadano slotsbetween the existing 110 and

160 tonne cranes.

XCMG is China's largest craneproducer. This 240 tonne QAY 240

is now part of a range that extendsto an eight axle 500 tonner.

all terrain cranesc&aNew six axle 350 tonnerThe second new model fromLiebherr is the 350 tonne LTM1350-6.1with 70 metre main boom, 10metres more than its predecessor -the LTM 1300-6.1. Lifting capacitieshave also been enhanced and whenfitted with the company's latestY-boom suspension system (alsofitted on the LTM 1400-7.1) boastssome of the best lifting capacitiesof any six-axle crane. Liebherrclaims that this allows the newmodel to perform work that up untilnow has been the domain of sevenor eight-axle models.

A 78 metre luffing fly jib providesa maximum hook height of 132metres, 16 metres more than the1300. The LTM 1350 can alsoself-erect the Y-suspension. The

suspension frames are located onbrackets on the sides of thetelescopic boom, and then pinned tothe heel of the boom's base section.The operator uses the BTT Bluetoothremote to control the set up.

The counterweight frame withluffing jib winch already installedand the base-plate with counterweightblocks in position can travel as acomplete package with an all upweight of 60 tonnes. Maximumcounterweight is 140 tonnes.

The six axle chassis has an eightcylinder 450 kW (612 hp) engine and12-speed ZF TC-Tronic transmission,coupled to a torque converter foron site manoeuvring. The four rearaxles have active steering, dependenton road speed, during crab steering,all six axles are steered, eliminating

the need to central axle lifting.

The crane superstructure cab is anew design and does not have to berotated rearwards during road travel.

As with the LTM1100, the 350 tonnerincludes the new Liccon2 computer/crane control system, and the BTTBluetooth controller.

The new 110 tonne Grove GMK5110-1replaces the GMK5110, and has a50.6 metre main boom, 18 metreswing away extension and two,eight metre extension inserts forfurther reach. This results in a maximumtip height of 87 metres with up to46 metres maximum radius.

All crane operations - including bothsuperstructure and carrier functions- are controlled via Manitowoc'sECOS system in tandem with theEKS 5 Light load monitoring system.The EKS constantly monitors thecrane's lifting operations providing awarning alert for faults or errors andcan transmit data to any Manitowoc

Crane Care centre worldwide,allowing fast and accurate diagnosis.

Neil Hollingshead, Manitowoc'sproduct manager for All Terraincranes said: “The crane replacesthe highly successful GMK5100,but builds on that crane's heritage.It has an improved load chart whenrigged with maximum counterweight,but also offers good options fortravelling within the 12 tonnes axlelimits, but customers can bereassured that it maintains all theperformance benefits that made theGMK5100 one of the industry'smost successful cranes ever.”

Grove has been busy catching up with the Liebherr andTerex Demag by introducing new models with longerbooms, better lifting capacities and a host of new featuresfrom the new Mercedes designed commercial carrier cabto the two speed transfer case on the transmission forgood on-site creep speeds.

Grove GMK5110-1

Tadano Faun has been makingconsiderable inroads into variousEuropean markets doing particularlywell in the UK through its distributor,South Yorkshire-based CranesUK.

The latest addition to its wellregarded All Terrain range is theATF130G-5, a 130 tonne capacity,

five axle crane that slots betweenthe 110 tonne ATF110G-5 and the160 tonne AFT160G-5. It is hopedto be seen in public for the first time at the Vertikal Days show atHaydock Park in June. For moreinformation on the ATF130G-5 seethe ‘two new Tadano mobiles’ newsstory on page 7.

Chinese crane manufacturers arealso stepping up their effortsadding AT cranes in addition totheir growing truck and crawlercrane ranges.

XCMG, by far and away, China'slargest crane producer has launchedits top of the range, eight axle 500tonner. Its previous largest modelwas the seven axle 300 tonne QAY 300.

Number two manufacturer, Zoomlion,has recently unveiled the six axle,

220 tonner QAY 220, its second AllTerrain crane after the 160 tonner.

Tadano continuesto go global

Chinese ATs

36 cranes & access April 2009

Small, reliable City cranes arenotoriously difficult to build andGrove has sensibly opted for ajoint venture scenario withJapanese manufacturer Kobleco.Japanese manufacturers - andindeed Kobelco with its RK70M in1989 - perfected this type ofcrane and therefore have a goodreputation and experience indesigning and building practical,reliable small City cranes. We willhave to wait and see whether ornot the new crane delivers interms of performance, price andreliability. But if it succeeds, it islikely to prove to be a winner andthe joint venture will prove to bea coup for Manitowoc.

Manitowoc already has OEM agreements with Kobelco to marketits small crawler cranes in Europeand North America under theManitowoc badge. Kobelco on theother hand, has agreements withGrove to market its GMK 5130 andGMK 6300 All Terrain cranes in Japan.

Terex Demag with its 30 and 40tonne City cranes has virtually hadthe European City crane market toitself over the past few years.Liebherr's hydrostatic drive, 55tonne LTC1055-3.1 is an impressiveperformer, but is seen as more suited to industrial-type lifting applications or crane rental workover shorter distances.

For Manitowoc, the launch couldhelp widen its AT customer base asbuyers look for something different,in order to tap congested urban andspecialist industrial applications.

The crane is a compact three-axle,single cab unit with classic city'Nose down' design. Its 45 tonne rating is at 2.5 metres, while its 34metre main boom - is best in class.The crane has an optional 6.3 to10.2 metre 'twist' jib which attaches

working conditions and less operatorfatigue,” says Neil HollingsheadManitowoc's product manager forAll-Terrain and Rough-Terrain cranesPower comes from a six cylinder330 kW diesel and maximum travelspeed is 80 kph. The hoist has 160metres of 16mm diameter rope and a single line pull of 44.4 kN. The GCK3045 travels with its fullcomplement of counterweight fittedwithin 12 tonnes per axle.

The front two axles are powersteered with electronic rear wheelsteer, the crane also offers a smartfunction where the third axle detectsthe first axle's steering angle andadjusts according to the speed oftravel in order to minimise tyrewear. For off-road manoeuvring it offers standard crab and co-ordinated steering modes.

through a simple elevation of theboom and then a twist of the jib bythe operator before pinning into position. The entire operation is saidto be a one-man job and can be donewithin the crane's 2.55 metre overallwidth, meaning full boom and jib canbe rigged in a narrow street or aisle.The hook block stows automaticallyfor travel.

The new crane is compact at justover nine metres long, three metreshigh and 2.55 metres wide. To facilitate working in narrow locations,the crane also has a choice of fiveoutrigger widths and the ability to setup with uneven outrigger settings.

“The cab has excellent ergonomicswith a highly intuitive graphic LMIdisplay as well as hoist and rearview cameras which transmit to adisplay on the dashboard for better

all terrain cranes c&a

NewCity kid

Make Model Max Main LxWxH Chassis Drive Max Outriggercapacity boom length speed spread

Terex AC30 City 30t @ 25m 8.38 x 2.5 6.88m 4 x 2 x 4 85 5.95 x 4mDemag 2.7m x 3.04m (4 x 4 x 4) or 5.9m

Terex AC40 City 40t @ 31.2m 8.57 x 2.55 7.09m 6 x 4 x 6 85 6.35 x 4mDemag 3m x 3.2m (6 x 6 x 6) or 6.2m

Terex AC40/2 40t@ 30.4 m 10.69 x 2.55 8.46m 4 x 4 x 4 80 6.255 x 4.79Demag 3m x 3.33m or 5.95m

Grove GCK 3045 45t@ 34m 9.07 x 2.55 6 x 6 x 6 80 6.94 x 3.62.5m x 3.09m to 6.47m

Grove GMK 2035E 35 @ 29m 10.22 x 2.55 8.38m 4 x 4 x 4 84 6.33 x 4.4 3m x 3.58m or 6.2m

Liebherr LTC 1055-3.1 55@ 36m 8.47x 2.54 7.41m 6 x 6 x 6 75 6.26 x 6.27 2.5m x3.3m or 4.5m

Liebherr LTM1050.3.1 50 @ 38m 11.53 x 2.54 9.17m 6 x 6 x 6 80 7.15 x 4.5 3m x 3.84m or 6.4m

Liebherr LTM 1055-3.2 55@ 40m 11.36 x 2.54 9.36m 6 x 6 x 6 80 7.34 x 4.5 2.5 x 3.75m or 6.30m

Since being 'spotted' byeagle-eyed readers inGermany last August,Grove has done an excellent job of keepingeveryone guessing whowas behind the prototypeCity crane. The 45 tonneGrove GCK3045 - its firstever City All Terrain - willhave its grand unveilingat this month's Intermatshow in Paris and looksset to rekindle interest in the sector.

How does it stack up?

all terrain cranes c&a

38 cranes & access April 2009

Contractor Galliford Try Rail called inHewden crane hire and a 100 tonneDemag crane to provide a contractcrane lift solution to position sixprecast concrete support beamsand a new pedestrian bridge linkingone side of the track to the other.The lifts were carried out throughthe night to minimise any interferenceto the rail line.

The entire lift was organised andconducted by a team of three fromHewden cranes, headed by DouglasMcCully who said: “Putting thislocal train station back on track will

have a real impact on the wholeLaurencekirk and wider Mearnscommunity. Having been a victim ofthe Dr Beechings rail closures, thestation has been closed since 1967so a whole new generation will nowbenefit from improved rail links. The lift itself was a great success,with everything going to plan andschedule, with the pedestrian bridge in place by six am so therewas no disruption to the East CoastMain line.”

Galliford Try's James Cable added:“As a company we have hired

Network Rail is re-opening Laurencekirk train station inAberdeenshire in a Transport Scotland-funded initiative torestore passenger services to the town after a break ofmore than 40 years.

Mind the gap

AB2000, the Scottish-based crane and earthmoving rentalcompany has taken delivery of a new 120 tonne TerexDemag AC120-1 All Terrain crane, the first to be based inScotland. The five axle crane will be the largest inAB2000's nine unit fleet which ranges from a 15 tonneJones Iron Fairy to the new 120 tonner.

AC120 for AB2000The new AC120-1 is the largestcrane in AB2000's fleet.

Lifting in the newpedestrian bridge linkingone side of the trackto the other.

All the lifts were carriedout through the night tominimise any interferenceto the rail line.

various pieces of kit from Hewdenover the years but this is the firsttime that I have worked with themon a project. McCully and the teamhave really eased the pressure oforganising and conducting the lift;

to work alongside people who dothis kind of thing day in day out hasmade a massive difference. Withthe pedestrian bridge now in placewe can look to complete the finalstages of the train station.”

A feature of the new crane thatappealed to AB2000 was its abilityto carry up to 27 tonnes of counter-weight on board, making it almostas easy to move as its 80 tonner,while sporting a 10 metre longer

main boom at 60 metres. The unitalso has a 17 metre bi-foldswing-away extension.

AB2000 managing director AdamBruce said: “This new addition willcompliment our existing fleet,

allowing us to provide a wider morecomprehensive service to ourexisting customers while helpingus to attract new customers fromsectors which require thelarger cranes.”

AB2000 is based in Cambuslang,near Glasgow and was founded in1995 by Adam Bruce acquiringG.Plant Rail Ltd in 2002 and themobile crane and plant fleet ofMotherwell Bridge Ltd in 2005.

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“BHP already owns several GroveAT cranes, but the company needsmore lift capacity for themaintenance work on the mainiron ore crusher,” said WATM salesmanager Stephen Lazenby. “Untilrecently, it was renting in largecapacity cranes from Perth morethan 1,200 km away. Therefore itmade perfect financial sense topurchase a crane the companycan keep at the mine.”

Australia mining giant, BHP Billiton Iron Ore, has purchasedGrove's largest All Terrain crane - a 450 tonne GMK7450 -to carry out maintenance work on its large processingequipment. Delivered by WATM, the Manitowoc dealerfor Western Australia, the crane was immediately putto work dismantling the primary iron ore crusher at itsmain facility, the Mt Whaleback Mine located inNewman, Western Australia.

“The crew that was operating theGMK7450 were very pleased withhow well it performed,” saidLazenby. “It completely exceededexpectations, both in terms of liftcapacity and overall operation.”

The GMK7450 has a 450 tonnemaximum capacity and a 60 metremain boom featuring Grove'sTwin-Lock pinning system. With jibextensions, reach can extend to130 metres. The seven-axle carrier

includes a fully automatic Allisontransmission and Grove's Megatrakindependent suspension systemfor improved performance bothon and off road.

Based in the Pilbara region, BHPBilliton Iron Ore is one of theworld's largest suppliers of iron orewith an integrated system of sevenmines, more than 1,000 km of railtrack and two port facilities tosupport its operations.

The processor - an Allis Chalmers primary crusher - had been inservice since 1969 but needed two of the central components - the 68tonne 'spider' and the 62 tonne mantle - lifting out, a process that will be repeated every four months.The first job was completedsuccessfully and the crane was then moved to other remote BHP sites to perform routine bi-monthly maintenance on other mining equipment.

Crushing performance

from GroveBHP Billiton's Grove GMK7450

performing maintenancework on an iron ore crusher

at the Mt. Whaleback Mine, inNewman, Western Australia

all terrain cranesc&a

Both LTM1500s were using 105tonne of ballast at an eight metreradius, lifting the vessel verticallyaway from the temporary trestles.A Demag AC350 with 122 tonneballast acted as the tailing crane.

The first unit was transported verticallyto the dock on the transport andturned using ship cranes. The secondunit was lifted by a 1000 tonneLiebherr and tailed with a 500 tonnecrane. However this was delayedby seven days due to high windsbecause of the significant heightabove the unit of the spreaderbeams and lifting equipment.

Mammoet UK redesigned andsimplified the lift doing away withany special lifting tackle and keepingthe height of the jibs to a minimum.Not only did the job go as plannedbut the sun also came out!

Mammoet currently owns and operatesabout seventy mobile telescopic cranes,ranging from 10 tonne to 500 tonnesand has depots located in Newcastle,Teesside, Scunthorpe and Leeds. Thecompany is a wholly owned subsidiaryof Dutch company Mammoet B.V.created through the acquisition ofMammoet by Van Seumeren BV. Bothcompanies had UK based subsidiarieswhich were merged together in 2000.

3D CAD planning

pays off

April 2009 cranes & access 41

The contract to lift and turn through90 degrees, two 226 tonne, 20metre high, 6.5 metre diameterwaste heat recovery units involvedtwo 500 tonne capacity LiebherrLTM1500-8.1 working in tandemand a 350 tonne Demag AC350acting as a tailing crane.

The unit on a site in Hull, then hadto be transported to the King GeorgeDock in Hull before sending it toKakinada Andrha Pradesh, India.Once operational there it will beused for gas processing on the landfillgas site of the Krishna Godavri gasfield in the Bay of Bengal on theEast coast of India. The waste unitrecovers heat from the gas turbine'sexhaust system and then uses thesteam produced to turn a steamturbine, producing electricity.

One of the two Liebherr cranes usedhad to be delivered to Mammoetearlier than scheduled - just twodays before the start of the job.

Billingham-based crane hire, heavy lift and transportationcompany Mammoet UK used a variety of CAD produced3D views to show the client exactly how the job wouldbe carried out, then completed the job exactly as planned.