The Cranes and Lifting team is back from Vegas and what an experience CONEXPO-CON/AGG has been. Just the sight of cranes reaching toward the sky was a feast for the senses.
You’ll no doubt hear all about CONEXPO in the coming weeks, and we hope you enjoyed our coverage during the show, which ran from March 7 to 11.
Manitowoc was just one crane manufacturer that went all out for CONEXPO, showcasing a wide range of machines and using the event to introduce its GRT880 to the North American market.
Cranes and Lifting sat down with Manitowoc product manager for rough-terrain cranes Paul Cutchall to talk about the company’s product strategy in a highly competitive space, as well as discuss some of the new cranes on display.
Cutchall is a crane veteran, having worked in the sector for 47 years. He says much has changed in the last five decades, particularly when it comes to customers’ demands. For one, customers now want longer boom designs across all tonnage classes.
“In the past, we used to design the cranes, put them out in the market and hope they meet our customers’ demands. When things were booming, that worked fine. But as the market contracted and it’s gotten tougher, we now have to supply what the customer thinks he needs,” Cutchall added.
“They may not always know what they need but you’ll get fairly close. It’s a competitive market – North America is the premier for rough-terrain (RT) cranes and everyone wants a piece of that pie. And when you look at the RTs that are on display here at CONEXPO, not just ours, but our competitors’ as well, you’ll see that the RT market has a lot of commonality. We are all going in the same way.
“When you get right down to it, it’s all about having the latest technology, offering ease of serviceability, and ensuring reliability of the crane.”
A journey of refinement
Cutchall said Manitowoc develops five-year plans that determine which products in their range need to be refreshed over the period. These are reviewed yearly.
Currently, the company is focusing on its Crane Control System (CCS).
“The Crane Control System is really the biggest thing because that is the brain of the crane and the intent is to make that universal across all Manitowoc products, to get that incorporated into the older machines, refresh them with the new technology and the new boom design. And Manitowoc’s philosophy is to get that done in an applicable amount of time,” Cutchall said.
“It’s all about refinement. As new technology evolves, a lot of them being now more software-based, we can incorporate that into our design systems and give that crane that functionality. Take variable-based positioning for example, that’s software. Liebherr is promoting their VarioBase in their new RTs, and we’re canvassing our customers to find out if it’s something they need. If so, then we can design that also.”
New faces amongst the crowd
It is easy to see why CONEXPO is a launch pad for new equipment and Manitowoc took the opportunity to showcase GRT880 and GRT655L at the event.
The GRT880 made its first appearance at bauma last year but this is the first time it’s been shown in North America.
The rough-terrain crane incorporates Manitowoc’s CCS and is a reflection of all the company has learned in the last decade of crane design.
“The GRT880 is replacement for the RT880, which was introduced in the 2005 and 2006 timeframe. This is newer technology and it has an 80 metric ton rating but it’s the mid of the low chart, which is where we have enhancement of the capacities that we can offer to the end user,” Cutchall said.
The GRT880 features a 41-metre boom that is lighter than other cranes in its class. It also has a full complement of boom extension and insert options, and a reach of 60.9m and maximum tip height of 68m.
The boom is also lighter and longer than its predecessor, but has the ability to lift heavier loads across its load chart.
“The GRT880 that was shown at bauma last year was a prototype. Between bauma and now, we’ve done all of our testing – all of our reliability testing, longevity testing of our booms, lifecycle testing etc, and now it’s ready to be marketed and sold worldwide,” Cutchall said.
Then there’s the 55 metric ton GRT665L, which was unveiled at CONEXPO.
The long-boom version of the new GRT655 boasts a 43.03m five-section, greaseless boom, giving it a reach advantage of 8.32m over the closest competing model.
This longer boom gives it a maximum working radius of 36.58m and a 3% greater chart capacity than competing cranes at that radius.
“We are designing machines for a world market and trying to include all the latest technology that makes things easier for the operator, cost-effective for the purchasing department or owner, and still have very reliable cranes,” Cutchall concluded.
