A 14,000 tonne crane in development Continued slowdown
Maximum flexibility
Up to 57 m boom length, 15 m folding jib inclusive
Telescoping under load
Work on up to 4° incline*
Moving under load
Powerful Full Power Boom for pick & carry with up to 100 % load
Effective transport
With or without crawler tracks
Innovative self-assembly system
*with reduced load charts
For further information sennebogen.com/683
Bernhard Kraus
SENNEBOGEN
Maschinenfabrik GmbH
94315 Straubing, Germany bernhard.kraus@sennebogen.de
starting from 0 % interest, 0 % down payment
Data centre construction is a big thing at the moment, facilitating the feeding of our appetite for information and communication. Of course, cranes are needed to build them and, for the larger ones at least, big tower cranes are a typical solution.
As these buildings are stuffed with computers they consume huge amounts of electricity. There has been talk of these data centres being powered by their own mini nuclear reactors on site and, in the USA, of Microsoft reopening the Three Mile Island nuclear power station, site of the country’s worst nuclear accident.
These would all also need cranes but they remain little more than plans. One related scheme already well into its construction phase is the world’s first so-called energy island. Building an island sounds like a fanciful idea, or as Clint Eastwood playing Harry Callahan might describe it, “very stylish.” Not only has work started building an island, it will be in the notoriously inhospitable North Sea. Its purpose is to bring together the power transmission lines from the multitude of offshore wind turbines in the area and bring some order to things.
So far, the lifting work on this project is done by a group of tower cranes in the concrete caisson casting yard on the Dutch coast. Our first story on this project is on page 33.
Plans are afoot for more energy islands and also to expand them to include onsite factories and industrial processing plants that consume lots of electricity. That way the power is used close to the point of generation and needs less in the way of lengthy, expensive, unsightly and inefficient transmission lines. These will include hydrogen and synthetic fuel production plants, plus maybe oil refining, among other things needing lots of energy and-or sea water.
Maybe these energy islands could also incorporate data centres which might help reduce the number of nuclear reactors around the place. Either way, tower cranes and other types, plus specialized transport, will feature in all of it but only fundamentally.
ALEX DAHM Editor
International Tower Cranes 3 & 4 June 2025, Rome, Italy www.khl-itc.com
World Crane & Transport Summit 2025 www.khl-wcts.com
Correspondence is welcome and should be sent to: The editor, International Cranes and Specialized Transport, Southfields, South View Road, Wadhurst, East Sussex TN5 6TP, UK
77987493 | cristian.peters@khl.com
CHINA OFFICE
Beijing Representative Office Room 769, Poly Plaza, No.14, South Dong Zhi Men Street, Dong Cheng District, Beijing, PR China 100027. +86 10 6553 6676 | cathy.yao@khl.com
USA/CANADA PLUS AUSTRIA/EASTERN EUROPE/ GERMANY/IRELAND/KOREA/RUSSIA/ SPAIN/ SWITZERLAND/UAE
Matt Burk, Vice president sales
+1 312 4963314 | matt.burk@khl.com
UK/SCANDINAVIA
John Austin, Marketplace/Classified advertising
+44 (0)1892 786245 | john.austin@khl.com
DACH & IBERIA Simon Battersby
+44 1892 786223 | simon.battersby@khl.com
THE NETHERLANDS/LUXEMBOURG
Arthur Schavemaker
+31 (0)547 275005 | arthur@kenter.nl
FRANCE/BELGIUM Hamilton Pearman
+33 (0)1 45930858 | hpearman@wanadoo.fr
ITALY Fabio Potestà +39 010 5704948 | info@mediapointsrl.it
TURKEY Emre Apa
+90 532 2343616 | emre.apa@apayayincilik.com.tr
CHINA Cathy Yao
+86 (0)10 65536676 | cathy.yao@khl.com
JAPAN Michihiro Kawahara
+81 (0)3 32123671 | kawahara@rayden.jp
USA/CANADA Bev O’Dell
+1 816 8861858 | bev.odell@khl.com
VP GLOBAL SALES Alister Williams +1 843 637 4127 | alister.williams@khl.com
Max. Lifting Capacity : 75t x 3.0m
Boom Length : 10.0m to 30.1m
Side Deflection-Resistant Fully Powered Boom for All Lifting Tough 4-plate box boom structure with special welding quality standards, but lightweight
A Superstructure Designed to Take on Tough Jobs
The upper frame is designed to be durable for winch operation with high line pull.
The vertical layout of the main & aux. winches helps achieve a compact design and efficient weight balance.
Engine Output
Chosen as the official magazine of the SC&RA (Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association)
European partner
Approved media partner for:
To subscribe to International Cranes and Specialized Transport or any of the magazines in the KHL portfolio go to: www.khl.com/free-subscription or call +44 (0)1892 784088 for details.
International Cranes and Specialized Transport is a monthly publication with a worldwide circulation. The annual airmail subscription rate is US$301, €258, £215. This issue of International Cranes and Specialized Transport is mailed on 31 October 2024. Material published in International Cranes and Specialized Transport is protected under international copyright law and may not be reproduced without prior permission from the publisher.
International Cranes and Specialized Transport (USPS 017 158) is published monthly by KHL Group and distributed in the US by DSW, 75 Aberdeen Road, Emigsville, PA 17318-0437. Periodicals postage paid at Emigsville, PA. Postmaster: Send address changes to International Cranes and Specialized Transport, c/o PO Box 437, Emigsville, PA 17318-0437.
Less growth all round than last year’s IC Tower Index of the world's largest tower crane-owning companies but still growth overall. Alex Dahm reports.
SPECIAL: 14,000 TONNE
Construction of what would be by far the world’s largest landbased crane is planned to start in China. Alex Dahm reports.
New tower crane concepts for wind turbine installation. Part one of an epic series written by ICST special correspondent and global tower crane authority Heinz-Gert Kessel
Construction work has started on Princess Elisabeth, the world’s first energy island. Lucy Barnard reports.
Tower cranes are driving demand for the Enertainer lithium battery energy storage solution around the world. Lucy Barnard reports.
EDITOR & EDITORIAL MANAGER Alex Dahm
alex.dahm@khl.com | +44 (0)1892 786206
DEPUTY EDITOR Niamh Marriott niamh.marriott@khl.com | +44 (0)1892 786208
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Murray Pollok
NEWS WRITER Leila Steed
GROUP EDITORS Lindsey Anderson, Andy Brown, Catrin Jones, D.Ann Shiffler, Leila Steed, Euan Youdale
WORLDWIDE CONTRIBUTORS John Bowman, Australia; Graham Brent, USA; Marco van Daal, Aruba; Heinz-Gert Kessel, Germany; Richard Krabbendam, Netherlands; Tim Maughan, Japan; Brent Stacey, Australia; David Weston, UK
SC&RA CORRESPONDENT Mike Chalmers
SALES MANAGER Matt Burk matt.burk@khl.com | +1 312 496 3314
MARKETPLACE SALES John Austin john.austin@khl.com | +44 1892 786245
CLIENT SUCCESS & DELIVERY MANAGER
Charlotte Kemp | charlotte.kemp@khl.com
CLIENT SUCCESS & DELIVERY TEAM Alex Thomson | alex.thomson@khl.com
Olivia Radcliffe | olivia.radcliffe@khl.com
GROUP DESIGN MANAGER Jeff Gilbert
GROUP DESIGNER Jade Hudson
EVENTS MANAGER Steve Webb
Increased demand from infrastructure projects and a global shift towards renewable energy means the global crawler crane market continues to grow. Niamh Marriott reports.
Joel Dandrea, SC&RA chief
Continued member support fuels future success for the SC&RF, writes Mike Chalmers Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association
EVENTS DESIGN MANAGER Gary Brinklow
CREATIVE DESIGNER Kate Brown
CLIENT SUCCESS & DIGITAL DIRECTOR Peter Watkinson | peter.watkinson@khl.com
HEAD OF FINANCE & HR Alison Filtness | alison.filtness@khl.com
FINANCE MANAGER Yasmin Toumi | yasmin.toumi@khl.com
CREDIT CONTROL Carole Couzens carole.couzens@khl.com | +44 (0)1892 786250
AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
Anna Philo | anna.philo@khl.com
Link-Belt’s newest AT is the 225|AT, unveiled in September at the US manufacturer’s CraneFest event.
The 225 US ton (200 tonne) capacity all terrain crane is the third in the company’s range of 5-axle ATs, positioned in
The new 440 HC-L boasts multiple improvements over its predecessor, the 357 HC-L
between its 175|AT and 300|AT, which are 175 tons (150 tons) and 300 tons (275 tonnes), respectively.
The new model boasts a 46 to 202-foot (14 to 62-metre) six-section latching boom, a 42 to 71 foot (13 to 22-metre)
The new 225|AT was designed, built and tested at Link-Belt’s factory in Kentucky, USA
two-piece hydraulic offsetable SmartFly, an 8 foot (2.4 metre) heavy lift jib, one or two 25
Manufacturer Liebherr in Germany has released details of a new high capacity luffing jib tower crane with multiple improvements over the outgoing model.
As a replacement for the 357 HC-L the new 440 HC-L lifts more, takes up less space and uses new materials to save weight. It is better suited to ever faster construction site cycles, Liebherr said.
Two versions are available: the 24 tonne capacity 440 HC-L 12/24 and the 36 tonne 440 HC-L 18/36. The bigger model beats its 32 tonne predecessor by 4 tonnes.
Out of service radius is 10.7 metres and a minimum working radius of less than four metres can be achieved, the manufacturer said. It can be set closer to surrounding buildings, boundaries, or cranes, potentially by enough to get another crane on site. A first for this crane is the use of synthetic (aramid) fibre rope for the luffing pendant ropes.
» THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION (OSHA) in the USA has revealed the top 10 safety violations for 2024. It looks almost identical to 2023. For the 14th consecutive year, Fall Protection topped the list with 6,307 violations. Hazard communication (2,888) came next, followed by ladders (2,573). respiratory protection (2,859) and lockout or tagout (2,443 violations) as the top five. Fall protection violations were down 13.25% from 7,270. Aside from 2023’s record-breaking total, this year’s 6,307 fall protection violations were the highest the agency has reported since 2018.
feet (7.6 metre) lattice fly extensions, and a 334 foot (101.8 metre) tip height.
Designed, built and tested at Link-Belt’s factory in Lexington, the new crane was developed in concert with the 300|AT launched in 2023 at the ConExpo trade show. The new 225|AT offers improved reach, more capacity and more counterweight than its predecessor, the 210 US ton (185 tonne) ATC-3210, while maintaining the transportability aspect of the AT range.
Power is from a 413 kW Cummins X15 diesel engine in the carrier, giving a top speed of 55 mph (88.5 km/h).
Deliveries should start in the second quarter of 2025.
» A next-generation high capacity model has been added to series of hydraulic loader cranes. The new iQ.708 HiPro is in the 60 to 70 tonne-metre class, putting it towards the top end of the medium to heavy load capacity range.
Benefits of the new design include more performance from a smaller and lighter package. Maximum vertical reach is 40 metres and with a jib, it offers a so-called up and over reach of 26 metres. Up to nine boom extensions are available plus a jib can be specified with up to six.
The modular design has a scaled up dodecagonal (12-sided) V12-Power boom profile.
Being able to build large and heavy modules close to ground level means less work at height and a reduced need for special supporting steelwork.
Module construction at ground level, however, means once it is finished it has to be raised off the ground, often to a height of tens of metres. That is where Mammoet’s Mega Jack hydraulic stacking tower system comes in. Several sizes of Mega Jack are already available in the Mammoet fleet. Capacities per tower are 300, 500, 800 and 5,200 tonnes. Towers can be combined, theoretically without a capacity limit.
Trying to combine too many towers might encounter problems with space under the load. Modules are getting bigger and heavier and Mammoet foresaw the need for a capacity per tower of even more than the Mega Jack 5200.
Enter the new Mega Jack 10000. As the series nomenclature suggests the number reflects the lifting capacity per tower. In this case it is actually 10,400 tonnes per tower, exactly double that of the previously range-topping Mega Jack 5200.
Crucially, while the capacity has doubled, the footprint of the tower base remains the same. It means less steel in the supports as the level rises and the starting height remains low. Further benefits are that fewer towers are needed for heavier loads and smaller foundations mean shorter preparation time and lower cost.
The jacking beams on the new system are 5 metres long and have three connection points. Instead of the load all being on the corners of the tower, it is distributed through eight base units, arranged with four at the corners of the tower and four more, one in the centre of each side.
Double the support for the Mega Jack 10000 in the same footprint as the Mega Jack 5200 allows twice the load
Hiab iQ.708 in the 60 to 70 tonne-metre class has design elements scaled up from other models
» The rapidly expanding DENZAI KK company based in Jappan acquired fellow lifting and transport specialist Kurogane Corporation, also in its home country.
Kurogane has a 77 year history in Kyushu and it is Denzai’s first foray into the region. Its equipment and human resources will be integrated to achieve
Japanese crane maker Tadano Ltd will acquire the ramining shares of Manitex International, manufacturer of truck cranes, loader cranes and specialized industrial equipment.
The deal announced 12 September is an all-cash transaction at an equity value of US$123 million and with a total transaction value of $223 million, including outstanding debt. Manitex will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Tadano.
In May 2018 Tadano acquired a 14.9 per cent stake in Manitex International for US32.6 million. At the time it said this investment was part of Tadano’s long-term goal of becoming the world’s number one lifting equipment manufacturer.
Commenting on the deal Toshiaki Ujiie, Tadano president and CEO, said, “For us as a
further development and success of both companies, Denzai said. Kurogane Corporation was established in 1947, becoming known as Kurogane Unso in 1954, before changing its name to Kurogane Unyu Kikou in 1972. It will remain as Kurogane Corporation after the acquisition, Denzai said. The head
company, the acquisition of Manitex will help us to further diversify our product portfolio while remaining 100 per cent committed to the lifting equipment industry. It will lead the future growth that will help us to expand our global truck loader crane and aerial work platforms business.”
For his part David Langevin, executive chairman of the Manitex Board, commented, “We are pleased to have reached this agreement with Tadano, which we believe will deliver immediate and certain cash value to Manitex shareholders at a significant premium to the most recent share price.”
On completion of the transaction, expected to be in the first part of 2025, Manitex shares will no longer trade on NASDAQ or any other public market, Tadano said.
A series of heavy lifting and handling machines with pick and carry capability has been launched by NC Nielsen.
All combine carriers similar to self propelled modular transporter (SPMT) with hydraulically powered lifting functions mounted above. The Danish company is offering several models of three new types of machine in lifting capacities from 200 to more than 500 tonnes. It has designated the series HH Pick and Carry and describes them as “a hybrid between an SPMT trailer and a crane… truly the first machines of their kind in the world.”
Heavy loads,
NC Nielsen describes its HH Multi Handler as the world’s first of its kind.
Lifting capacity starts at 200 tonnes and exceeds 500 tonnes
for example, wind turbine components, can be handled by these new lifters and movers in factories, warehouses, ports and marshalling yards. Wind turbine towers in a range of diameters, up to 10 metres, can be accommodated. The chassis legs can be adjusted for width to minimise the space the machine occupies.
Three models are available initially. The HH Tower Mover is for moving wind turbine tower sections and other similarly long structures.
The HH Multi Handler is for single lifting tasks, for example, large wind turbine components. In addition, these can be paired to move turbine tower sections. but can also be used as one of the components in moving towers.
The HH Mobile Straddle Transporter can be used for heavy lifts on its own or in combination with either of the other models.
Allegiance Crane & Equipment has completed its acquisition of Scott-Macon, parent of Scott-Macon Equipment in the USA.
Scott-Macon Equipment, a dealer for Tadano, Broderson and Kobelco cranes, will now be the bare rental and equipment distribution arm of Allegiance.
“We are excited to add Scott-Macon Equipment to the Allegiance family as the bare rental and equipment distribution arm of Allegiance,” said Justin Romero, Allegiance Crane and Equipment president and CEO.
Scott-Macon Equipment is a bare rental lifting equipment and distribution company serving the Gulf Coast.
Topping our share price index this month is Chinese construction manufacturer Liugong with a 29.44 per cent increase from last month and a 35.31 % change from last year.
The company is targeting growth in its various global markets, investing in both traditional and electric vehicle technologies to stay competitive in the construction machinery industry.
It continues to expand its international footprint, especially in regions like North America and India, where a spokesperson for the company said it sees significant growth opportunities.
Finnish manufacturer Cargotec's half-year financial report for 2024 showed a 4 per cent increase in orders, with service sales rising 6 %. Sales decreased 4 %, while comparable operating profit grew 2 % to EUR 82 million (US$ 86.92 million). The company raised its long-term financial targets for Hiab.
The company also completed its demerger, launching Kalmar as a separate entity, and initiated MacGregor's sale process.
CEO Casimir Lindholm said, "The completion of the Kalmar demerger and the MacGregor sales process are critical steps in reshaping Cargotec’s future."
As the latest addition to Liebherr’s MK series of mobile folding construction cranes, the new MK 120-5.1 fills a gap near the top of the range.
It sits between the MK 88-4.1 and the largest model in the series, the MK 140-5.1, on which the new one is based. The new model on its five axle carrier offers a maximum 52 metre radius and lifts 2.1
At Tadano Demag GmbH in Zweibrücken, Germany, workers took action over proposed changes to the crane production facilitie.
Production continued during the strike
Members of the IG Metall union went on strike over plans announced in February by the Japanheadquartered crane manufacturer to realign European crane manufacturing. The plans involve closing the Wallerscheid mobile crane factory near Zweibrücken and investment to be made in the other plants in Germany. The strike started 5 September following a vote. Crane production continued, Tadano said. While there are plans to close a factory, the originally announced loss of more than 400 jobs has been reduced by about 30 per cent to around 300. That would take the total of around 1,200 to about 900.
The plan was to move production from Wallerscheid to the existing factories in: Zweibrücken, Lauf and Japan.
Deliveries of Liebherr’s new MK 120-5.1 are dues to start in mid-2025
tonnes at jib-end.
A new feature of this, the fourth model in the MK series. is the Liebherr TC-OS (Tower Crane Operating System). It has a user interface that can be customised to suit the operator. Its 12 inch (300 mm) touch screen, viewable as full or split, allows display of a range of information in different areas. All MK crane models are destined to have this new screen by the end of 2025.
An option that will also become standard on all MK models is a smaller hook block to help when positioning loads in confined spaces, for example, between scaffolding and a building. It can be changed on site in a few minutes, the manufacturer said.
Company Zaugg AG, in Rohrbach, Switzerland ordered the first unit of this new model. Deliveries are due to start around the middle of 2025.
» Australia’s crane sector is strong in the civils and infrastructure sector, according to the latest RIDER LEVETT BUCKNALL CRANE INDEX SURVEY. The number of cranes working on nonresidential projects in Australia reached 370 units, out of a total of nearly 900 units, in a new survey just out.
RLB’s Crane Index
for the third quarter of 2024, its 25th quarterly edition, reports Sydney as the busiest area.
The high number of cranes is attributed to the large amount of civil and infrastructure projects impacting the construction industry.
Commenting on the figures Domenic Schiafone, Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB) Oceania
director of research and development, said,
“Construction crane numbers remain strong across Australia led by Sydney, Melbourne and the Gold Coast. The Australian construction industry remains buoyant, with 863 cranes on sites nationally. The Q3 2024 RLB Crane Index has recorded the third
highest count in the 25 editions of the index. The index has recorded more than 800 cranes nationally for the past six editions,” Domenic Schiafone added.
» Also in Australia, MARR CONTRACTING came up with an alternative solution for the heavy lifting requirement on an
industrial project.
Tower crane specialist Marr provided heavy lifting services on the BlueScope No. 6 Blast Furnace (6BF) Reline Project at the Port Kembla Steelworks.
Ease of transport:
No part wider than 3.5 m.
Modular parts designed for fast and cost efficient transportation.
Ease of rigging:
Well thought-out assembly concept.
The Boom Booster kit can be quickly and safely assembled by personnel standing on the ground.
Boom Booster Kits:
CC 38.650-1
CC 68.1250-1
CC 88.1600-1
Significantly boost capacity:
Wider Boom Booster sections increase the main boom’s stiffness and boost lifting capacity over all configurations, especially with long main boom, as well as with luffing jib and fixed jib.
Take a closer look
Discover how Tadano Boom Booster Kits can enhance your crane’s lifting capacity.
The Boom Booster kits increase the lifting capacity of your CC 38.650-1, CC 68.1250-1 and CC 88.1600-1 lattice boom crawler cranes. They significantly extend the range of applications for your crane, especially for projects where excellent lifting capacity on long jib systems is essential.
Boom Booster kits are available both for new cranes and as retrofit upgrade-kits.
Take a closer look at what Tadano can do for your business. Learn which models are available in your region at tadano.com
While the top line total Index figures for the top 20 and top 5 tower crane-owning companies were still up, it was by less than half of last year’s increase which was itself lower than the year before.
There was also rather less of an increase in the other metrics too, to the point where the total numbers of cranes, employees and depots all showed a rise of less than 1 per cent.
It is interesting to note the top 20 and top 5 Tower Index totals were up by 2.7 and 3.2 %, respectively. The 2023 top 20 total was 8,597,720 points and this year it is 8,831,496. In both cases this is the lowest increase in at least the last ten years but an increase all the same.
Looking at the long-term trend might give a better feeling too. The IC Tower Index headline top 20 total ten years ago was 2,270,644 points while this year it is 8,831,496 points – an impressive increase of 289 %. For the top five companies it was an even grander 304 % jump.
As the Tower Index is a measure of capability it can be determined that while there were only eight more cranes than last year among the top 20 companies, the total capability added to the Index over last year was 233,776 tonne-metres. This shows that cranes are getting bigger and replacing smaller ones.
Half of the top 20 companies posted a
Five Morrow cranes by the ocean working on the Aria Reserve Project in Miami, Florida, USA
higher IC Tower Index figure than last year and only six were down, although that is twice as many as last year. Last year Van der Spek increased its fleet while Maxim reduced it. Since then that has flipped around with the former shedding nearly 4 % and the latter adding 2.5 %. No exits from the table this year and
there are two new entries. These are Stravers Torenkranen from the Netherlands in 27th place and Leavitt Cranes from the USA in 37th.
The top seven companies’ rankings remained unchanged from last year. In first
place, for the third year running, NFT added 134 cranes, 284 employees and increased its Tower Index by 229,100 points. That amount is between the size of the Morrow and Wolffkran fleets, both of which are top 10 companies.
NFT has widened the gap from its nearest rival. Last year it was 49 % bigger and this time it has increased that to 59 %. Other companies showing increases include Maxim and Morrow in the USA, BKL and Wasel in Germany.
The first company to have changed position is Maxim in 8th, moving up one place. Sante from Singapore is next, gaining two places in 9th. Van der Spek drops two, Neremat one and then Marr and Shinwoo hang on to their 12th and 13th places, while Tiong Woon then gains two at 14. Falcon and Favelle Favco then each move down one place this year.
If this rate of change that started from 2022 to 2023 continues it looks as though next year’s table could be flat, perhaps at best with a small boost to the Index from a continuation of the trend for bigger cranes to replace smaller ones.
With so much conflict in the world, widespread uncertainty and an imminent US election at the time of writing, it is difficult to forecast strong growth.
That is unless of course the great promise of mega developments in the Middle East and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in particular, will really begin to take off. Perhaps the widely heard story about needing as many as 20,000 tower cranes there will come true. ■
Companies are ranked by their IC Tower Index, calculated as the total maximum load moment rating, in tonne-metres, of all tower cranes in a fleet. Like last year we have included 25 companies in the IC Tower Index table but the calculations are all still done on the top 20, for consistency with previous years.
All companies in the list, plus other prospective ones, have the opportunity to supply fleet information and other data. Where companies supply the full data the figure used is calculated by them. In cases of insolvency, acquisition or lack of sufficiently up to date information, companies are withdrawn from the table.
While we make great effort to ensure the accuracy of information provided, it cannot be guaranteed and International Cranes and Specialized Transport and its publisher, KHL Group, accept no liability for inaccuracies or omissions.
The IC Tower Crane Index will next be updated in mid-2025. If you’d like your company considered for inclusion please contact Alex Dahm alex.dahm@khl.com for an application form. With more input and the inclusion of more companies we can help build a bigger picture of the global tower crane rental market.
of the
Adivision of China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec) is planning to build a 14,000 tonne capacity land-based crane. Yes, you read that correctly.
If you think the tonnage is a big number, wait until you see the maximum load moment rating: an astronomical 728,000 tonne-metres.
Sinopec Heavy Lifting and Transportation Co., Ltd. (SHLTC), based in Beijing, China, is planning to start construction of what will be – by a big margin – the world’s largest land-based crane, ICST reveals exclusively.
The new giant lattice boom ring type super heavy lift crane, designed and developed in-house by SHLTC, will be used in China and further afield on the company’s projects, making major lifts in the industrial chemical, nuclear and offshore engineering sectors, the company said.
Construction is due to start in 2024 with
Multiple configurations of the new Sinopec Heavy Lifting and Transportation Co giant heavy lifter are possible
testing completed by the end of 2026 – in an ideal scenario, SHLTC explained.
It will be possible for the 14,000 tonne crane to be divided and built up as a pair of 7,000 tonne capacity cranes. Configured as a 14,000 tonne crane it will lift 5,300 tonnes at a 100 metre radius. Set up as a 7,000 tonne crane it will lift 2,650 tonnes at the same radius. Various base arrangements will be possible, including a full ring track, segments of a ring, straight track or a crossing type.
The lattice type main boom will be 147 metres and the maximum working radius will be 164 metres. A 48.6 metre offsetable lattice jib will also be available.
Power will be via an electro-hydraulic system and it will have conventional wire rope hoist winches. As much as 10,000 tonnes of counterweight will be deployed on the crane.
Sinopec Heavy Lifting and Transportation Co., Ltd. (SHLTC) is a subsidiary of Sinopec Engineering (Group) Co., Ltd (SEG). The SEG
turnover was RMB53.028 billion (US$ 7.4 billion) in 2022. In 2023 SEG signed new contracts worth RMB80.252 billion ($ 11 billion), up more than 10 per cent on the previous year.
Approximately a quarter of SEG’s business by value is from overseas customers, another quarter from the Sinopec Group and the remainder (46 per cent) was from external clients in China.
Projects include Saudi Aramco’s Rias NGL Project, the Saudi AMIRAL Project, the ADNOC Ethane Recovery Project, and the Xin Long Guang Polystyrene Project in Vietnam.
The SHLTC subsidiary is an engineering contractor for lifting and transporting large and super-large equipment, typically in refineries and chemical plants. Its lifting equipment ranges in capacity from 25 to 4,000 tonnes.
Branches in China are in Tianjin, Qingdao, Nanjing, Ningbo, and Zhanjiang. Operation centres have been set up in Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan.
SHLTC and SEG parent, China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec), is a listed company reported as China’s largest oil and petrochemical products supplier, the world’s largest oil refiner and the world’s second largest chemical company.
Crane and Transport Briefing will provide updates as and when available. ■
With this unique loader crane, decades of expertise and the latest technology become the future of lifting solutions. The astounding outreach of 38.7 meters including the fly jib, a lifting moment of 124.8 mt, and the latest assistance systems, the PK 1650 TEC sets new standards in the heavy-duty loader crane segment.
LIFETIME EXCELLENCE
With increased demand from infrastructure projects and a global shift towards renewable energy, the global crawler crane market continues to grow.
This crane type’s high load capacities and long booms are proving useful for wind farm construction. NIAMH
reports
Manufacturers that include HSC, Kobelco, Liebherr, Manitowoc, Sany, Tadano, XCMG and Zoomlion are leading the industry, offering cranes with high lifting capacities and versatile boom configurations. Their cranes are not only crucial for traditional construction and industrial applications but are also widely used in the wind energy sector as the world moves towards sustainable renewable energy.
Crawler cranes, defined by having a tracked chassis, provide stability and mobility under load (pick and carry) on a range of terrains. This crane type is favoured for large scale lifting projects due to strong lifting capacity and long reach. The features also lend this crane type to lifting work taking place in unusual or remotely situated construction sites.
Sarens took delivery of the first Liebherr LR 125001.0 crawler crane earlier in 2023
Given the growing focus on infrastructure development and renewable energy, the crawler crane market is expected to continue expanding, with major advances in crane technology continuing to help meet a diverse range of project requirements.
Manitowoc will begin shipping its largest Grove crawler crane, the GHC200, later in 2024
As a leading manufacturer of crawler cranes, Liebherr is known for advanced engineering and highquality machines. Its crawler cranes are widely used in construction, wind energy, and infrastructure projects. The company’s crawler cranes offer various boom configurations and load capacities to suit different needs.
“The market for crawler cranes is currently very good. We continue to see
growth for classic industrial applications, but demand is growing in the wind power sector in particular, driven by the climate targets of many countries,” says a spokesperson for Liebherr.
“On the one hand, there are the large number of onshore wind turbines, but the growth in offshore wind turbines is also generating the need for large crawler cranes, eg. for port handling. This will be an important area for [our] LR 12500-1.0.”
In 2023, heavy lift giant Sarens took delivery of the first unit of Liebherr’s new 2,500 tonne capacity crawler crane, the LR 12500-1.0, with more orders following.
Liebherr’s crawler cranes, such as the LR 13000, are among the largest in the world. The LR 13000 has a maximum boom length of 144 metres and a lifting capacity of 3,000 tonnes, making it suitable for large
scale industrial projects, including heavy lifting in shipyards and power plants.
For wind farm applications, the Liebherr LR 11000 is a popular choice, offering a boom length of up to 126 metres and a load capacity of 1,000 tonnes. The LR 11000’s ability to lift heavy turbine components at great heights makes it ideal for erecting wind turbines.
American manufacturer Manitowoc will begin shipping its largest Grove hydraulic crawler (GHC) telecrawler crane – the new GHC200 – to customers later in 2024. Featuring a 56.4 metre main boom and 181 tonne maximum load capacity, the new model is said to deliver heavy-duty lifting power in applications that require high capacity at various radii in tough job site conditions, such as swampy and mountainous terrain.
The GHC200 was unveiled to dealers and customers at Manitowoc’s Crane Days event in May at the company’s factory in Shady Grove, Pennsylvania, USA.
“We have seen substantial growth within our telecrawler offerings, and our new model launches continue to contribute to this success,” says JJ Grace, product manager for GHC cranes at Manitowoc. “One market trend we have seen is the
growth and demand for larger telecrawlers. To meet this demand, the GHC200 is our latest and largest telecrawler offering.”
Typical applications for Grove telescopic crawlers include utility work or lifting work on infrastructure projects, Grace says.
When it comes to unique applications, Manitowoc has seen its crawlers assist with barge work (barge charts are standard), pile driving and foundation jobs.
“One of the latest is an assist crane on a wind farm to build some of our Manitowoc MLC product,” says Grace. “Then, they stayed on the job to do pick and carry work or even used a tailing crane.”
The Manitowoc 31000 is the company’s largest crawler cranes, with a maximum boom length of 125 metres and a load capacity of 2,300 tonnes. It is used in the construction of large infrastructure projects, such as power plants and bridges. For wind energy, the Manitowoc MLC650 is frequently used due to its maximum boom length of 104 metres and a lifting capacity of 650 tonnes, making it capable of installing the tall towers and heavy nacelles associated with modern wind turbines.
Chinese manufacturer Zoomlion has grown to become a major player in the global crawler crane market, with
significant sales in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America.
Known for its cost-effective solutions, its cranes are used in construction projects throughout Asia and beyond.
The Zoomlion ZCC89000 is a heavyduty crawler crane and one of the largest models in Zoomlion’s lineup, designed for large lifting tasks in industries such as construction, energy, petrochemicals, and heavy infrastructure. It is particularly notable for its high lifting capacity and »
Toggenburger's Tadano CC 38.650-1 crawler at work in Switzerland
Switzerland-based Toggenburger used a Tadano CC 38.650-1 lattice boom crawler crane with a 66 metre boom to lift and place the 230 tonne Aabachbrücke bridge in Niederuster, Switzerland.
The bridge’s parallelogram shape and sensitivity required precise load distribution, achieved through strand jacks that controlled individual lines to prevent structural damage.
The crane was assembled in two and a half days. Erection was assisted by an AC 140 all terrain crane and 20 trucks transporting components to the site. The lift involved manoeuvring over challenging terrain and setting the bridge down with precision.
“Space at the work site was extremely tight [but] an experienced team with the right crane can execute complex lifts safely and accurately within schedule,” adds Manuel Widmer, Toggenburger AG’s large scale project manager.
WOLFFKRAN revolutionizes the way loads are moved: The High Speed Positioning System (HiSPS) enables the crane operator to steer the load precisely and without swaying, diagonal pull or wind influence. Operating a crane has never been so easy, safe and efficient.
Simply revolutionary: The new WOLFF HiSPS
9 stops load swaying
9 saves the position automatically
9 effective anti-wind protection
9 no more diagonal pull
9 effortless hook pulling
9 easy shifting of the load
9 can be integrated into many WOLFF models: We provide comprehensive advice!
You get everything from a single source from the crane industry‘s Leader of the pack. WOLFFKRAN sets the standard for innovative crane technology as a manufacturer, rental company and service provider - for over 170 years. Welcome to the pack: www.wolffkran.com
Der Leitwolf. The leader of the pack.
For more scan QR-Code:
advanced design, making it suitable for demanding projects like power plant construction, petrochemical installations, and large wind turbine erection.
Earlier this year, the manufacturer claimed two more world lifting records for its 3,600 tonne capacity lattice boom crawler crane on a project in China.
Between 3 and 8 January the ZCC89000 crawler crane with double lattice booms
lifted three giant chemical processing vessels, the heaviest of which weighed more than 3,000 tonnes. Zoomlion claimed two world records, one for the heaviest single lift and the other for the fastest lifting speed.
In wind farm applications, the Zoomlion ZCC9800W crawler crane is frequently used due to its 168 metre boom length and 800 tonne lifting capacity, making it ideal for erecting tall wind turbine towers and handling large rotor blades.
Sany is another major Chinese manufacturer offering a wide range of crawler cranes, including models designed for heavy lifting in the construction and energy sectors. The company has made significant strides in the development of cranes suitable for renewable energy project applications.
The Sany SCC86000TM is one of the largest crawler cranes offered by the company. This giant boasts a maximum boom length of 126 metres and a lifting capacity of 3,600 tonnes, making it suitable
for super-heavy lifting in industrial and infrastructure projects.
In the wind energy sector, the Sany SCC4000A crawler crane, with a boom length of 120 metres and a capacity of 400 tonnes, is commonly used. Its design allows for the efficient installation of wind turbine components, including the nacelle, rotor blades, and tower sections.
The company’s focus on creating specialized cranes for the wind energy sector has made its models particularly popular for wind farm installations, both onshore and offshore.
Crawler cranes are crucial in the construction of wind farms due to their high lifting capacities and the ability to handle large, heavy components such as turbine towers, nacelles, and rotor blades. The installation of modern wind turbines, which regularly now exceed 100 metres in height and require lifting heavy parts to great elevations, necessitates the use of cranes with extended boom lengths and significant lifting capacities. ■
With a bucket capacity of 80 cubic yards (61 cubic metres) and a working weight of 9.1 million pounds (4,000 tonnes), the Marion 8200 dragline is a huge machine. They generally work in mines. One such machine completed a project in Texas, USA, and needed to be moved to another mine, also in Texas.
It was a huge and hard job, but someone had to do it. Frontier Heavy Haul & Support took on the project.
After a lot of analysis and research, Frontier hauled 27 loads of the machine that had a combined weight of 4,412,000 pounds (2,000 tonnes). The lightest piece was 39,500 pounds (18 tonnes) and the heaviest was 412,000 pounds (187 tonnes). The load dimensions of the components ranged from a length of 18 feet up to 135 feet 6 inches (5.5 to 41.3 metres) and widths from 2 feet up to 28 feet (0.6 to 8.5 metres).
Several types of specialized trailer were used, including a 3-axle steerable blade trailer, a 3-axle 45 ton stretch trailer, a 10-axle 85-ton trunnion specialized basket trailer, a 12-axle 65-ton deck trailer,
The Frontier Heavy Haul team hauled some 27 loads of the machine that had a combined weight of 4,412,000 pounds
There were several routing issues to solve, mainly because of the varying weights and dimensions of the load. Two different routes were utilized, depending on the size of the pieces moved. Frontier used eight different trailers in its fleet
a 13-axle 85-ton deck trailer, a 6-line Scheuerle highway giant platform trailer, a 7-line Scheuerle highway giant platform trailer and a 13-line Scheuerle highway giant platform trailer with pull and push trucks.
The job required 1,628 working hours and was completed over about six weeks. n
Revision of rules and regulations governing heavy transport in Europe moved a step closer on 7 October when the new European Parliament’s Transport and Tourism (TRAN) Committee voted to back them.
Measures include the long-awaited Europe-wide adoption of the standard Special European Registration for Trucks and Trailers (SERT) documentation for abnormal load vehicle registration. European abnormal road transport and mobile crane association ESTA has supported this for many years. SERT would reduce the amount of paperwork and bureaucracy faced by the industry.
The permitting system is a big part of the reforms:
■ a ‘one stop shop’ per country for permits
■ standard application forms for permits
■ electronic permits
Eco500 is a new self propelled specialized transport module with a carrying capacity of up to 500 tonnes from manufacturer Cometto in Italy. It is designed to be a compact and powerful self contained unit for intralogistics. Examples include being part of the material flow and production line in a factory or for port operations. Industrial rental companies and machinery moving specialists could use them for factory relocations.
Capacity is 38 tonnes per axle and Eco500 can operate at a minimum height of 670 mm. The pendulum type hydraulic suspension with a 400 mm stroke is based on that of the well-known and long established MSPE self propelled modular transporter. An integrated safety valve helps maximise safety. It has electronic multi-mode steering to an angle of +/- 135 degrees.
■ permitting systems in all EU languages
Also, subject to the vote was harmonisation of escort rules and vehicle markings, plus a ban on language requirements for drivers.
All the above are in the revisions to the EU Weights and Dimensions Directive (96/53).
Ton Klijn, ESTA director, said, “This is very good news indeed and the revised directive includes measures that ESTA has been requesting for many years.
Laso transported a pair of very large bridge structures by road in Portugal for onward travel by sea to the Netherlands.
The
The bridges, made by Martifer –Construções Metalomecânicas, were transported in early August from Oliveira de Frades to the Port of Aveiro. Their journey
The large bridge structures leaving their fabrication shop for the first leg of the journey
then continued from there by sea to the Port of Rotterdam.
Each bridge section was 50 metres long and their size meant the use of a tower adapter. Hydraulically adjusting for the width of the cargo allowed completion of the more complex manoeuvres on this job.
Challenges on the job included the size of the bridge sections and their weight. In addition to issues presented by the size of the load, another crucial element was time management. Running at night was to avoid creating road congestion and it avoided disruption of services at the Port of Aveiro. n
We manufacture Flat-Top and LufÞng cranes designed and built to the very best quality, and backed by our customer service. Designed to perform, optimised for assembly and transport. And priced to maximise your rental rates. Full support for site planning and special crane conÞgurations.
Together we build the future.
At the beginning of tower crane application for wind farm projects, this breed of crane was tried as an alternative to large mobile lattice boom cranes, on sites where space and access were restricted.
The focus was to have high capacity at a short outreach. Converting a standard heavy lift tower crane into a wind turbine installation cane only needed a limited number of design changes. A good example is the Liebherr 630 EC-H70 of construction company Max Bögel in Germany. It has a strengthened short jib and a special trolley for multiple falls of rope to cope with the requested 70 tonne load, up from the standard version’s 50 tonnes capacity.
130 tonne lifting capacity used to install a 179 metre wind turbine in China
In China the FZQ series of 130 tonne high capacity luffing jib tower cranes, originally built for power plant boiler house construction, were repurposed for wind turbine installation. For both concepts one of the main design aspects was to minimise special features to redesign the crane quickly for general construction projects outside the wind turbine installation industry.
New tower crane concepts for wind turbine installation. Part one of an epic series written by ICST special correspondent and global tower crane authority
Already in its first prototype application, however, this approach highlighted the main disadvantage. The crane was originally designed for a project duration of at least 3 to 5 months. Mobilisation and demobilisation times could never compete economically with those of fast-rigging mobile cranes on wind turbine job sites that generally last just a week.
Adaptation of the standard tower crane concept for easier transport and faster rigging became more and more an essential feature when evaluating the viability of wind turbine tower crane concepts. A first breakthrough at manufacturer Liebherr was a flat top crane design instead of the standard saddle jib with tower head and pendants. This reduced the installation time of the crane upper.
Krøll in Denmark developed an alternative luffing jib design where the time-consuming reeving of the luffing rope was no longer needed. The pre-reeved bridle could rest on the A-frame where also the luffing winch was attached. A luffer allows boom outreach to be transformed into lifting height. It is a brilliant and fast solution to
Jinli Heavy Industries’ JLD1700 installing a 2 MW turbine standing at 95 metres
gain extra under hook height.
Additional under hook height was realised by Krøll for the first time when introducing the distinctive boom nose jib tip section to provide more clearance from the load at the maximum under hook height.
The above two design concepts were later integrated in all subsequently released Chinese wind turbine tower cranes. These included similar looking cranes from Jinli Heavy Industries, XCMG, Yongmao, Sany and from Zoomlion.
Yongmao STF3080 with a 200 tonne capacity to an under hook height of 200 metres. This crane incorporates common design features pioneered by Krøll
A fast set up version of Jinli Heavy Industries’ LJD1700 for low height mountain wind power projects up to 93 metres hook height
Depending on the dimensions of the mast system, a common maximum free standing under hook height for top slewing luffing jib wind turbine cranes seems to be 180 to 200 metres. Load capacity is usually between 180 and 200 tonnes.
Above 140 tonnes lifting capacity the crane’s components tend to be all oversize for transport. An advantage of luffers over conventional tower cranes is that fewer mast sections are needed to achieve the required hub lifting height. It also saves installation time for jacking the crane.
Free-standing tower cranes generally provide the most flexibility for wind turbine tower design. As wind turbines get taller, however, more costly and stronger mast sections must be used. In many cases this means a longer rigging time and more abnormal transport loads, all again adding to the mobilisation cost.
Still a major disadvantage exists concerning the tower crane base when comparing it to a large mobile lattice boom crane. Mobile cranes can generally be moved from one turbine to the next at least partially rigged. A tower crane must be completely dismantled, including its large and heavy base.
To help speed up the process two tower crane bases can be applied on wind projects. While one is in use the second one can be reinstalled at the next job site. Such a crane concept will clearly not be as economical as it should be. More recently, special mobile tower crane bases have been designed or are in development. The success of such designs under real site conditions will depend
Zoomlion LW2340-180 undercarriage on a narrow mountain wind power project
An early IHI design study already showing the distinctive design featue of the long legs
on the size of the crane and the preferred technical solution.
In Japan, two tower crane mobilisation concepts have been prototyped. They incorporate wheeled self propelled modular transporter (SPMT) for relocating turbine tower cranes. Shimizu Corporation completed its S-movable tower crane. It is a large 1,800 tonne-metre class mobile tower crane for onshore wind turbine installation in the 5 to 7 megawatt class.
Designed to be earthquake proof the new crane lifts 145 tonnes at 12.5 metres radius to a height of 152 metres. That makes it the largest and highest self-supporting tower crane in Japan. It is a joint development between SC Machinery and IHI Transport Machinery.
Field testing of the crane concept is underway and the companies are test relocating the crane using SPMT in the Shingu District of Japan, on the Kure city shipyard side. The complete upper crane remains installed so the crane only climbs down into its lowest position and the diagonal bracings and the legs of the »
How the IHI S-Movable Tower crane looks at its full freestanding height
WIRECO Germany GmbH | Casarstr. 1 | 66459 Kirkel
Phone: +49 6841 8091-0 | E-Mail: info@casar.de | www.wireco.com
www.gatwoodcrane.com
Your crane should deliver high performance reliably. Then trust CASAR Steel Wire Ropes. Rotation-resistant heavy duty ropes such as the CASAR EUROLIFT, CASAR STARLIFT PLUS and CASAR DOUBLEFIT offer high breaking strength, highest rotation resistance and the best in class multi-layer spooling behavior. www.BAYCRANE.com
base are disconnected. It is then ready to quickly move to the next site. The relocation cycle is shortened by about six days, according to Shimizu Corporation.
Cranes using a traditional Japanese type of cylindrical tower which absorbs
IHI installation under test without legs
wind pressure and at the same time allows climbing the tower system through a compact slewing ring support, are mounted on a specially developed, four leg, crossshaped pedestal.
The Japanese way of inserting tower sections through the slewing ring offers a real safety advantage for climbing in harsh weather. It also allows the crane to be jacked on the same size of tower system at a very low level. The 97.5 metre high tower system is made up of 14 tower sections. Thanks to the special Japanese way of climbing, a maximum of three tower sections can be inserted in one climbing process, into the climbing device, reducing the number of tower connections to be made during operation on a windfarm.
To reach the 97.5 metre free standing height, on a 2.45 metre square metre (optimised for transport) base, some diagonal bracings had to be added to the tower, installed by the tower crane itself. Connecting this tubular structure to the central tower is done using a patented fast installation device served from inside the
the leg connection to the mast inside the tubular tower of the IHI
Pictured before jacking the IHI crane to its impressive free standing mast height
tower and therewith under safer access conditions than being outside.
In contrast to European and Chinese wind turbine installation tower crane designs, these very long mast stays greatly suppress mast deflection on a free-standing crane. Unlike standard construction cranes the number of jacking steps alongside the tower to raise the crane have been reduced by developing a new fast hydraulic jacking device.
When moving the crane, the centre part of the cross-base is on SPMT with a special mount. After disconnecting the outer parts of the legs to reduce the transport width of the crane, the massive outrigger pads are mounted onto the SPMT unit as ballast to compensate for the point of gravity of the crane.
In addition, when relocating the complete crane upper, including its 55.55 metre jib and all ropes being kept reeved, the machinery deck will be fastened with special load securing ropes to the SPMT platform. While the crane will generally be operated from the crane operator’s spacious and comfortable cabin, it can also be operated remotely from the ground or from up the wind turbine.
In the long term IHI forecasts increasing demand for such high-capacity tower
Installing three IHI mast sections in one climbing sequence using a redesigned jib
cranes. In Japan, in contrast to Europe and China, more moderate wind turbines with 100 to 120 metre hub height in the 4 to 5 megawatt size are more common. Experience in Europe with tower cranes for turbine erection has already shown the required capacity of the cranes and their lifting height quickly increases, to the point where cranes could not be too big. ■
Outgoing Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo (right) pictured during a visit to Vlissingen, Netherlands, to the onshore construction site for the Prinses
Elisabeth Eiland (Princess Elisabeth Island) energy island in the North Sea
At the TM Edison fabrication yard in Vlissingen, Netherlands, workers are busy pouring concrete to make huge reinforced blocks the size of a 10 storey apartment building. They will form the foundations for a huge new island.
Each massive cuboid is 57 metres long, 30 metres wide and 30 metres high, and weighs 22,000 tonnes. It takes a team of around 300 workers three months to build.
The blocks – or caissons – will be floated out to sea, towed by tugboat to a spot in the ocean about 45 kilometres off the coast of Ostend in Belgium. There they will be sunk and dredgers will fill them with sand to form the foundations of a project designed to turbocharge offshore wind power in the North Sea.
Princess Elisabeth Island will be home to an electricity sub-station connecting the growing number of wind farms in the area.
Rather than today’s system where each offshore wind farm sends the power it generates to the national grid through its own dedicated cable, the project, being built by Belgian utility Elia for €3.566 billion (US$3.9 billion), will gather the electricity from several wind farms at once and send it onshore through one large cable, making it cheaper and more efficient.
“Princess Elisabeth Island will be the world’s first artificial energy island that combines both direct current and alternating current,” said Jan Fordeyn, director of project development and
Work at the TM Edison fabrication yard in Vlissingen, the Netherlands
Princess Elisabeth Island will be the first of its type – a multi-billion Euro artificial island in the North Sea to gather the electricity produced by the growing number of wind turbines in the area and send it to shore more efficiently. LUCY BARNARD reports
conceptual design at Jan de Nul, one of the two Belgian dredging and construction companies on the job.
To reduce risk and cost associated with building in such a remote spot, TM Edison is constructing as much as possible on land in its dedicated Vlissingen fabrication yard.
First concrete is poured to create the massive reinforced bases for the caissons before the cured base plates are moved on runners to a second station. There, a sliding formwork structure is set up and concrete is continuously poured into the huge moulds for around ten days, slowly rising to build the enormous walls at a rate of 100 millimetres every hour using electrically
powered concrete pumps from German pump manufacturer Putzmeister.
“At peak times around 400 people per shift will be working on the construction site –making it approximately 800 people a day,” explains Fordeyn.
The partly-formed caissons are then moved on runners to a third workstation where cable entries are added, followed by a further stop where a reinforced concrete roof is added and eventually storm walls.
The whole process takes around 85 days per caisson but five caissons can be produced at a time. In total about 165,000 cubic metres of concrete will be poured.
“Setting up a complete construction yard in less than six months has been one of the biggest challenges so far,” Fordeyn said.
At the time of writing six Liebherr tower cranes were at work in the construction yard, supplying rebar and other items to the upper slipform deck and towers for concrete pumps (four of which were railmounted to enable them to move about the site more easily). Included are the 1000 EC-H, the manufacturer’s largest standard tower crane, as well as a 550 EC-H, a 245 EC-H, three 340 EC-Bs and one 280 EC-H.
Three telescopic crawler cranes; a Liebherr LTR 1100, a Sennebogen 653R-E, and a Marchetti CW70.42L, plus a Liebherr HS 8200 lattice boom crawler crane were also used.
Most of the cranes were rented to TM Edison by parent companies Jan de Nul and DEME, although smaller mobile cranes were also rented in. Cranes on site had collision avoidance systems from AMCS in France. Lifting and manoeuvring the large structural elements and equipment was done using spreader beams from Modulift to evenly distribute the load. “Spreader beams have been integral to
the construction of the concrete sections, with one formwork section weighing 17 tonnes and 10 metres in length,” explains Ruben Verschueren, a site superintendent at TM Edison. “We are using a one-over-one configuration, a MOD 34 spreader beam at the top and a MOD 24 below.”
The finished caissons are loaded out, towed to a launching pit and floated away to storage before being towed to site, positioned using anchors and winches, then ballasted with water. Next they are filled with sand and covered with rock to protect them from erosion. With all the caissons in place the core of the island will be filled with sand and compacted. before adding a quay and helipad. ■
HAYLEY ARCKLESS, UK country manager for AMPD Energy, tells LUCY BARNARD how tower cranes are driving demand for its lithium
Tower cranes are a common sight in the historic part of Birmingham city centre once known as the Gun Quarter.
In recent years, this part of the UK’s second city, once a centre for gun manufacture, has become the focus of building boom centred around student accommodation blocks catering to the city’s four universities.
Crown Place, a 33-storey tower with nine- and twelve-storey ‘shoulder blocks’ to the sides, on the city’s busy Lancaster Street, is no exception.
The tower is being built by Northamptonbased contractor Winvic Construction with the help of a Potain MR 225A luffing jib tower crane supplied by lifting specialist Radius Group, also headquartered in Northampton.
Unlike most of the tower cranes dotting the Birmingham skyline, the Lancaster Street site and crane are powered, not by diesel generators but by a rechargeable battery supplementing power from the grid.
The battery storage system, known as the Enertainer – a portmanteau word combining ‘energy’ and ‘container’ is a 2.6 metre square, 7.3 tonne box which contains 30,000 lithium-ion battery cells – enough to store the energy needed to fill the energy peaks needed by up to three tower cranes.
Most modern tower cranes have been manufactured to run on electricity since the 1970s. And yet, their high power demand often makes it difficult for contractors to connect them directly to the national grid, even if there is a connection available. Yet, by using lithium battery cells to store mains
power, the makers of the Enertainer unit say it can provide the short bursts of high power required for lifting loads.
Radius, which bought the unit as its first investment in energy storage systems to help power the cranes it runs, declined to say how much it had paid for the unit or how much it was renting it out for.
“We are seeing a significant and growing demand for alternative power solutions for tower cranes,” Rachel Swanston, marketing manager at Radius told ICST. “This is driven by the construction industry’s focus on sustainability and efficiency.”
And Birmingham’s Lancaster Street is by no means the only construction site using the technology.
AMPD Energy, the Hong Kongbased company, founded in 2014 which
The Potain MR225A luffer, powered by the Enertainer unit, at work on the Lancaster Street site
The Enertainer Unit being delivered to the Lancaster Street site using a truck mounted articulating loader crane
manufactures Enertainer units, has seen a massive surge in business since it started marketing its products at the construction industry five years ago.
The company, which started out making lithium-ion battery-powered backup power supplies for hospitals and data centres, has expanded from Hong Kong to supply units on a global scale.
Today the company is active in Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, North America, United Kingdom and the GCC (Gulf Co-operation Council) countries.
“We are solving a very common problem that the global construction world is facing,” Hayley Arckless, UK country manager for AMPD Energy, told ICST. “We
need to build and have the pipeline to do so but unfortunately, we don’t have the grid stability or availability to achieve this. Until now, the only other option has been diesel generators which are heavy polluters,
high TCO [total cost of ownership] and inefficient.”
“Our battery system was born out of specific demand from the construction industry for a unit that can handle the very niche requirements of power, as well as handle the tough environments on a construction site.”
The company, a finalist in Prince William’s global environment Earthshot Prize, says every switch from a diesel generator to one of its units saves 130 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year.
“An Enertainer helps contractors use less power, more efficiently,” Arckless says. “It saves costs by taking a small trickle charge from a small power source (usually grid) which negates the need to wait for costly grid upgrades, renting generators, bowsers, and other technologies, not to mention that it can eliminate the huge diesel or biofuel bill altogether.
“Batteries also add an extra level of power security to a site, meaning sites don’t need to worry about generator breakdowns, or grid outages,” she adds. “Storing energy in an Enertainer to use efficiently means if there is an outage in the original power source, sites can keep working to ramp down safely.”
As Arckless readily admits, as a battery storage solution, the Enertainer is only as sustainable as the electricity which it stores – something that can differ significantly depending on how much electricity each nation produces from renewable sources such as wind and solar power and how much comes from burning gas, oil and coal. Enertainer is charged at a rate of between 10 and 80 Amps from a 320 to 440 Volt three-phase AC mains supply.
“Batteries are considered new technology, but this is a myth,” she says. “We have been using battery storage technology for decades in utility scale grid support, in electric vehicles and more. We are simply extending the use case of this technology into an industry which can really benefit from it.”
Of course, Enertainer units are not the only option for contractors looking to reduce the carbon footprint of the tower cranes they use on site. Manufacturers are producing a full range of technological solutions aimed at removing or reducing the use of diesel generators on sites. These include: far more affordable flywheels
Sustainability and economy are key drivers for this application in the UK's Gun Quarter
which can flatten out electricity demand on generators by storing energy for the sudden spikes in electricity needed by tower cranes for lifting loads as kinetic energy; and battery storage solutions made with lead-acid batteries.
“We don’t see ourselves as competitors to the technologies listed above, mostly because we can solve multiple problems and can power the vast majority of a construction site,” Arckless says. “A flywheel, for example, is a great technology for peak shaving and reducing a fuel bill on one piece of equipment. A lead acid battery might be good for small levels of stable load requirements like overnight lighting or cabin welfare, but the lifespan is much shorter, and it needs to be paired with an equivalent sized generator to power high loads like a tower crane, so saving opportunities are limited.”
Yet, as the construction industry continues to look for ways to decarbonise, Arckless says that, in the future Enertainer units could be used alongside hydrogen generators or fuel cells.
“Hydrogen is a very interesting technology, but unfortunately it is quite cost prohibitive at scale,” she says. “However, we think we can solve this barrier to entry by working together. Pairing a battery with a hydrogen generator as a power source, enables the user to significantly downscale the generator size to as low as 75 kVA, creating a fully zero emission and low carbon power solution for construction.” ■
10th Edition
25-27 September 2025 - Piacenza (Italy)
25-27 September 2025 Piacenza (Italy)
25-27 September 2025 - Piacenza (Italy)
Wage theft in the construction industry is rapidly emerging as a global issue, affecting millions of workers across borders.
From developed nations to emerging economies, construction workers are increasingly vulnerable to exploitation, with wage theft taking various forms, including non-payment for overtime, illegal deductions, underreporting of hours and misclassification of workers. As construction is one of the world’s most critical industries, the global scale of wage theft poses significant challenges for labour rights and economic justice.
While the global cost of wage theft is difficult to quantify precisely, due to under-reporting and the varying degrees of data collection across countries, recent estimates and studies provide insight into the magnitude of the problem. In the USA, wage theft is estimated to cost workers more than $15 billion annually (Economic Policy Institute).
In the UK, wage theft through unpaid work and other forms of
CHAIRMAN
Scott Bragg
Bragg Companies, Long Beach, California, USA
PRESIDENT
J Rozum
MSA Delivery Service, Canton, Michigan, USA
VICE PRESIDENT
Jim Sever
PSC Crane & Rigging, Piqua, Ohio, USA
TREASURER
Michael Vlaming
Vlaming & Associates, Vallejo, California, USA
ASSISTANT TREASURER
Harry Fry
Harry Fry & Associates, West Newbury, Massachusetts, USA
ALLIED INDUSTRIES GROUP
Mike Walsh
Dearborn Companies, Bridgeview, Illinois, USA
Randy Sever
PSC Crane & Rigging, Piqua, Ohio, USA
TRANSPORTATION GROUP
David Yarbrough
Yarbrough Transfer
Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA
PRESIDENT
Jennifer Gabel
JK Crane, Kenvil, New Jersey, USA
VICE PRESIDENT
Kate Landry
Deep South Crane & Rigging, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA
TREASURER
Stephanie Bragg
Bragg Companies, Long Beach, California, USA.
pay violations, costs workers €1.2 billion annually (Trades Union Congress). In Australia a study by the McKell Institute found wage theft costs workers at least $1.35 billion a year.
Obviously wage theft is not confined to any one region. It often targets low-income and migrant workers, who make up a significant portion of the construction workforce. In developing countries the situation can be even more dire. In many cases these workers have few legal protections and are reluctant to report wage theft due to fears of retaliation or deportation.
One of the primary reasons wage theft is so rampant in the construction industry is the lack of strong labour protection and enforcement mechanisms. Even in countries with robust labour laws the transient nature of construction work makes enforcement difficult. Construction workers often move from one jobsite to another. Without union protections or collective bargaining agreements they have little recourse when their wages are stolen.
In developing countries, labour laws are often weak, and enforcement is minimal. Employers can exploit workers with impunity, knowing regulatory bodies lack the resources or political will to hold them accountable. Consequently, the cost advantage for companies choosing to cheat in this way, can truly create separation from the competition.
That said, legal experts acknowledge the best first line of defence is often to know your trade partners well, ensure they have the means to pay employees and build trust in that working relationship. In addition, encouraging labour organisations to advocate for and enforce better protections, while also consistently raising awareness about wage theft, will go a long way.
Another key component is empowering workers to advocate for themselves through education programmes, informing workers of their rights, and by supporting the formation of unions.
These days technology offers an array of innovative solutions to combat wage theft. AI-powered systems and blockchain technology can be used to track hours worked and ensure payments are made transparently and on time. By creating an immutable digital record of transactions, these tools can help prevent wage theft and hold employers accountable.
Global construction can and should do better. Addressing the global wage theft issue is not only a legal and ethical responsibility, it is also a way to build a stronger, more sustainable industry. ■
Continued member support for the SC&R Foundation fuels future success, writes
Over the course of the year, the Specialized Carriers and Rigging Foundation (SC&RF) has done a comprehensive organisational evaluation, resulting in programmes designed to impact workforce development.
As many SC&RA members know, the SC&RF invests in industry-specific research to benefit the Association and overall industry. Often the research studies are used by SC&RA staff to advocate on behalf of industry companies to support long-term objectives, such as permitting harmonisation and specialized transportation and crane and rigging education. Some projects result in tools and resources like mobile apps and-or a benchmark for their business.
One such project, SC&RF’s first-of-itskind State of the Workforce in the Crane, Rigging and Specialized Transport Industry research report, went public in 2023. After data collection at the beginning of this year, the 2024 State of the Workforce report will be released in late fall or early winter. Representing the first year that data can be compared to the previous year’s report, the 2024 report enjoys a more diverse range of companies, and examines information on future hiring, the
Jonelle Anderson, managing director at Vertical Industries, and chair of the SC&RF Workforce Development Committee
age of the workforce, gender diversity by position and the education level needed for different positions.
In addition to research, a second pillar in the SC&RF comprises educational assistance. The Foundation’s longestablished educational assistance programme provides awards to individuals working in the industry who wish to advance their career, or those who would like to begin a career in the industry.
Scholarships are divided into three categories: Collegiate, Partners in Education and Vocational or Technical.
The Company Training Grant (CT Grant) is for SC&RA member companies training two or more employees and is designed to ease the financial burden of
SC&RF encourages Association members to get involved in future events like Jill of All Trades, which introduces young women, grades 9-12, to the idea of a career in the skilled trades
training and certification for companies who are bringing on new employees or training groups of employees.
Moreover, SC&RF’s Partners in Education programme offers vocational or technical scholarships from 50 to 100 per cent tuition. Participating partners include: CICB (Crane Inspection & Certification Bureau), ITI (Industrial Training International), Morrow Equipment Company and CCO Certification (National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators). More than US$100,000 in tuition is still available to be awarded to member company employees or non-members. Information on how to apply and the 2024 recipients of the CT Grant and scholarships are at: scr-foundation.org.
The third pillar comprising the SC&RF consists of industry awareness to support workforce development. Through this pillar, SC&RF is committed to cultivating national
TJ Cantwell, NCCCO Foundation
executive director
awareness through a presence at key events with students and educators to promote careers in the crane, rigging or heavy transport sectors.
sizes to participate in activities focused on building industry awareness and fostering community relationships in order to bridge the skilledlabour gap and ensure a future workforce – she knows the SC&RF’s presence at student-centric events will only be fortified and expanded by the addition of SC&RA members.
“We are thrilled to be invited to host a crane and rigging session on signals and lift planning at the Jill of All Trades event coming up in Ohio [24 October at Owens Community College], and we’re really looking for members, especially those from Ohio, to attend with us,” she explained. “We’ll have three to four groups throughout the day and end each session with a lift.
Events include SkillsUSA, which draws more than 16,000 students and educators from every state; Future Farmers of America (FFA), which will host in excess of 69,000 students, educators, parents and administrators; and Jill of All Trades (JOAT), which was launched in 2014 in Ontario, Canada, and has now expanded across Canada and the USA, introducing young women in grades 9-12 to the idea of a career in the skilled trades.
SC&RF board and committee members join SC&RF staff as well as representatives of the NCCCO Foundation at these various events, speaking directly to students, parents and educators.
“SC&RF is committed to raising awareness at the higher, national level,” explained Jackie Roskos, SC&RF director. “And we encourage as many members as we can to join us if, when and however they can.” While Roskos is encouraged by member participation in SC&RF’s Workforce Ambassador programme –which brings together companies of all
“The event we attended in June, as observers, had a little bit of everything –from welding to concrete to construction – a lot of hands-on activities and demonstrations by females to females. And while this host-college does have a CDL side and heavy equipment programmes, they don’t actually have crane or rigging, so we’re excited to be able to offer this piece of it as a potential career for these young women.”
This past June, Roskos, along with a handful of SC&RA members and a representative of the NCCCO Foundation, also attended the SkillsUSA National Leadership & Skills Conference in Atlanta, comprising the largest gathering of America’s future skilled workforce and the ultimate recognition of excellence in career and technical education.
“The plan is to do as many events as we can, and to definitely return to that event,” she added. “We had a booth, and enough people stopped by that we had numerous conversations and a chance to talk about our industry. That said, I think it’s crucial to have people there with me. I can only show them videos and introduce them to the crane simulator, but what fascinates students is talking to people who are boots on the ground, in the industry, with insider information about cool jobs and the details that really capture their attention.”
Ed Bullmer, safety director at Phoenix Crane, secured the crane simulator for SC&RF as part of SkillsUSA
Jonelle Anderson, managing director at Vertical Industries, as well as chair of the Workforce Development Committee for the SC&RF, joined Roskos at both the JOAT and SkillsUSA events this year, and echoed her appeal for additional member participation.
“I think one major takeaway is that, I’m estimating, probably around ninety per cent of the folks we talked to [at SkillsUSA] had no idea of the types of opportunities that are out there in our industry,” she acknowledged. “We did get a lot of takers on the simulator that we provided, so that was a big draw, as well as the VR headsets. But it’s a massive event, and we can have a much larger footprint. But again, we need member support on every level in order to achieve that.”
Anderson indicated that perhaps there is a way for SC&RF to provide a “transport” component to a house-building competition, or even integrate crane and rigging into skills events where it’s a good fit. “We really have an opportunity here to elevate our presence; we can really tap into these events and spotlight our industry.”
TJ Cantwell, executive director at the NCCCO Foundation, joined Anderson and Roskos in Atlanta for SkillsUSA, and emphasised, “It was interesting and unique to see how many young people were attracted to rewarding careers outside the standard college track. It just reminded me of how important it is to put ourselves in these places to talk to students who are looking for the types of opportunities that our industry provides.” ■
For more information on joining SC&RF’s efforts to educate and engage the next generation of industry professionals, visit: scr-foundation.org/get-involved
In addition, YOU are invited to join SC&RF at the upcoming FFA event (23 to 25 October in Indianapolis).
For more information, email Jackie Roskos at: jroskos@gmail.com
Great care was needed when lifting a collection of super expensive cars into position for display at one of the UK’s top motoring events.
Goodwood Festival of Speed in the south east of England is an annual must-attend event for anyone interested in anything automotive. It attracts around 200,000 visitors and has been going for years.
To help set up the event, crane rental
Concerns in the heavy transport and lifting sectors about engine faults thought to be caused by AdBlue type diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) have been highlighted in a new report.
Research conducted by European transport and crane association ESTA highlights a large number of diesel engine heavy vehicle breakdowns related to the use of AdBlue type DEF.
ESTA has been urging members to send in information about problems with the use of DEF in mobile cranes and self propelled modular transporter. The request followed concerns raised at a meeting between association members and representatives of the crane manufacturers through the European Materials Handling Federation.
Crane rental companies have been reporting problems for months, some of which attributed one third of all on-road breakdowns as being related to the DEF.
ESTA has since decided to try and
identify the precise scale and nature of the problem. At the time of writing, 55 companies had responded to ESTA from ten countries. Most were from France, Netherlands and the UK.
Problems were reported with wheeled mobile and crawler cranes, trucks and SPMT. Most commonly it was an on-road breakdown, almost half of which were reported as compromising safety. Some reports were of dangerous interruptions to wind turbine and port load-out projects.
Many of the companies had multiple incidents, three of them reporting more than 20 in the last three years.
AdBlue DEF is a mixture of water and urea injected into Euro VI diesel engine exhausts to minimise emission of oxides of nitrogen (NOx). Ammonia in the DEF reacts with NOx in the catalytic converter, breaking it down into nitrogen and water vapour under selective catalytic reduction (SCR).
specialist Southern Cranes and Access used a spreader frame from Modulift on one of its wheeled mobile cranes to lift Rolls Royce and other top brand cars.
The CMOD spreader frame is for lifting loads from more than two points. It is also modular, allowing reconfiguration to suit larger or smaller cars. Components are interchangeable with MOD struts and can be rearranged on site for different loads.
Commenting on the CMOD Sarah Spivey, Modulift managing director, said, “The CMOD is one of our most popular products, and is an extension of the original MOD spreader beam. Customers who already have MOD struts can simply add corner units to make the four-point CMOD frame. The CMOD can also be combined with T-pieces to make a six- or eight-point CMOD spreader frame.”
The Goodwood Festival of Speed is a mix of new and old, historic vehicles rubbing wheels with the latest electric cars. It is not just show queens either, as all sorts race up the hillclimb track.
■ For more information see: www.modulift.com
Is DEF causing dangerous breakdowns?
A key concern from the ESTA report is that if the DEF system malfunctions the vehicle engine may lose power or go into a limp mode, possibly even shut down, with potentially dangerous consequences.
On the new report Ton Klijn, ESTA director, said, “We will continue gathering information and will consult the members of the joint ESTA and FEM European Regulations Workgroup that first raised the issue, and then decide next steps."
■ For more information see: www.cranebriefing.com/8039545.article
3 JUNE 2025
Off-site tour TBC followed by a welcome networking drinks reception.
Join other industry leaders at the 9th International Tower Cranes conference in
4 JUNE 2025
Full day conference and post-event farewell drinks reception.
VENUE
Cardo Roma, Autograph Collection Viale Del Pattinaggio, 100 Rome 00144, Italy
Clausen Kran in Switzerland used its 300 tonne capacity Liebherr LTM 1300-6.3 wheeled mobile telescopic crane on a job at the MGB Oberwald railway station. The work was to install roofing over the station’s platform. Clausen said, “The particular challenge during installation of the steel supports and the wooden elements, at a radius of up to 63 metres, was the 220 kV power line in close proximity to the construction site.” Maximum limit points were programmed in using the working range limit function in the crane’s LICCON system.
ADIPEC 2024
4 to 7 November 2024 Abu Dhabi, UAE www.adipec.com
WORLD DEMOLITION SUMMIT
6 and 7 November 2024 Stockholm, Sweden www.demolitionsummit.com
AEM ANNUAL CONFERENCE
13 to 15 November 2024 California, USA www.aem.org/events
WORKING AT HEIGHT CONFERENCE & AWARDS
19 and 20 November 2024 Tennessee, USA www.workingatheightevent.com
INTERNATIONAL RENTAL CONFERENCE
25 November 2024 Shanghai, China
https://www.khl-irc.com
BAUMA CHINA
26 to 29 November 2024 Shanghai, China www.bauma-china.com/en
BAUMA CONEXPO INDIA
11 to 14 December 2024 Delhi, India https://bcindia.com/en
MAURO MASETTI is the new director of sales at tower crane manufacturer Raimondi Cranes based in Italy.
His remit is to strengthen the company’s commercial roadmap around the world with the guidance of Luigi Maggioni, Raimondi group CEO. From a base in Milan Masetti will reinforce the sales division. Expansion overseas will include North America, Canada, and Northen Europe.
Masetti has been in the lifting sector for more than 25 years, beginning in 2001 at Terex. In 2011 he moved to MPS and then, in 2016, he joined Raimondi where he stayed until 2019. From there he went to Moritsch Cranes until 2024 when he returned to Raimondi.
Masetti said he will initially focus on optimising the product range, largely looking at the luffing jib models and driving international sales.
JOHN PETERSON, has been named as vice president of transformation at Maxim Crane Works. Reporting to CEO Paul McDonnell, Peterson will collaborate closely with operations, sales and functional leadership to enhance efficiency, growth and innovation across the organisation. Peterson brings more than 15 years of experience. Before Maxim, Peterson was managing director of strategy and transformation at Ernst & Young.
His education includes a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Notre Dame in the USA.
Loader crane maker Palfinger has made three promotions in North America.
ROB ENGDAHL is head of engineering, global stiff boom cranes, while continuing as
senior director of engineering for North America. Engdahl has a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Nebraska and has held product design and engineering leadership positions.
JASON HOLT was promoted to vice president of operations, North America, and will be a member of the company’s global operations team. Holt joined Palfinger in 2013 and has held executive leadership roles in plant management and operations. Most recently he was interim vice president of operations for North America.
GUSTAVO RIGON will be vice president of regional procurement, North America. He holds a degree in business from the University of Caxias do Sul in Brazil and began his career with the company in 2005. Rigon held managerial and leadership positions in the last 19 years.
n Please send picture of the month entries and all other back page-related information to The editor, International Cranes and Specialized Transport, KHL Group, Southfields, South View Road, Wadhurst, East Sussex TN5 6TP, United Kingdom, or by email to alex.dahm@khl.com. Entries for Picture of the month should include: the month and year taken, the place, type of crane, owner and project, plus any other relevant information.
International Cranes and Specialized Transport's Marketplace is designed to help readers find the products and services they need. The Marketplace is divided into colour coded sections to help you quickly find what you need.
Operational aids, communication systems, components, controls, software, crane mats and outrigger pads, crane repair, hydraulics, jacks, attachments, personnel baskets, rigging hardware, rollers, slings and chains, tires, winches, wire rope, batteries, braking systems, and new, used and refurbished parts.
Training, insurance, inspections, financing, consulting and safety equipment.
Transportation permits, freight forwarding,
Employee recruitment and job postings.
Lift and move heavy loads safely and conveniently with J&R Engineering hydraulic boom gantries as detailed in this brochure. The exclusive LIFT-N-LOCK® feature holds up the load in the event the lift cylinder loses pressure. Other exclusive patented safety feaures include Stabilizer bars, Octagon booms, Load sensing, Digital height indicating system and Oscillating header plates. Field proven models up to 1800 ton capacity and lift heights up to 100 feet. Crawler mounted gantries up to 700 ton capacity and other specialized lifting and
equipment available.
