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Manitowoc held an invitation-only event for a select group of customers on July 1, to introduce its new facility and two new mobile cranes. The new facility, which opened at the end of last year, is located in Gawcott, Buckinghamshire, close to the town of Buckingham. The two cranes making their UK debut were the GCK3045 single cab compact crane and the TMC540 truck crane. Manitowoc launched both the Grove-branded cranes at Intermat in Paris this April.
Steve Barnett, managing director of Manitowoc’s UK operations, said he was proud to introduce two industry-leading products together with presenting the new UK location.
“As we were launching these two new mobile cranes into the UK, we decided to use the occasion to give customers a detailed tour of our new facility,” he said. “We have a new group of people here in Gawcott that are as dedicated a team as you’ll find in the UK crane industry. We also have the service and storage space necessary to run the Manitowoc Crane Care service program that our customers expect.”
The Gawcott facility has sales and administration office space as well as extensive spare parts warehousing and workshops offering full repair, service and training facilities to support the needs of UK customers. It is also well positioned, to serve all of the UK and Ireland.
In addition to viewing the new facility, visitors to the facility saw a detailed demonstration of CraneSTAR, the new telematics-based asset management system that Manitowoc is including in a range of its new cranes. The system uses a telematics control unit connected to the crane’s CANbus system to transmit vital data on the crane’s position and operating parameters to a central location where customers can access it from any Internet-connected device.
The new cranes at the customer day were well received, particularly the GCK3045, which benefited from UK customer feedback during its Voice of the Customer development process. The 45 t capacity crane has a compact design and a single cab making it particularly well suited to work in city center or industrial applications. Neil Hollingshead, global product manager at Manitowoc for all-terrain cranes and rough-terrain cranes, said the GCK3045 was perfect for the UK market.
“Our customers in the UK have been asking for a crane with the capabilities of the GCK3045, so we are excited to present the finished crane to them at the facility here,” he said. “Many customers told us they were impressed with the crane’s compactness and ease of maneuverability, and also the 34 m main boom, the longest in its class. As a package, the crane is very well-suited to the UK market.”
The GCK3045 is a compact three-axle, single cab unit with a “boom down” design. It has an optional 6.3 m/10.2 m “twist” jib, which as the name suggests, attaches through a simple elevation of the boom and then a twist of the jib before bolting into position. The entire operation is a one-person job, minimizing setup time on site. It can also be done without the need to move outside the crane’s 2.55 m width, meaning full boom and jib can be rigged in a very small area.
The crane measures 9.1 m in length and is 3 m tall. Its 2.55 m width makes it compact enough to pass through narrow factory entrances. Also, for working in narrow locations, the crane has a choice of five outrigger positions. Additionally, there is the ability to operate with asymmetrical outrigger settings, where outriggers can extend to different lengths on either side of the crane.
Power for the crane comes from a six cylinder 330 kW diesel engine, and maximum travel speed is 80 km/h. No additional counterweight is required as the GCK3045 is able to travel with its full complement within 12 t per axle.
Also new to UK customers was the TMC540, which combines elements of Grove’s upperworks with a proven Scania truck carrier. The TMC540 has a 40 t maximum capacity and a 31 m four-section boom. With the addition of a 7.9/13.7 m offsettable telescopic swingaway jib, tip heights can extend up to 41.1 m. Counterweight of 2,550 kg is pinned to the superstructure.
The four-axle Scania carrier has one front axle and three rear axles. The front axle and trailing tag axle are steered, while drive comes from two rear axles. The tridem axle configuration offers better maneuverability than standard 8 x 4 trucks and better load distribution and off-road ability.
The basic crane has a total weight of just over 30 t (30,094 kg), and it measures less than 12 m long and 2.55 m wide. By using a Scania carrier, parts will be readily available to UK customers.
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The TMC540 truck crane, which was launched at the Intermat show in Paris this past April, makes its UK debut.
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