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Nearly 900 customers and dealer personnel attended Manitowoc Cranes’ Crane Expo demonstration event held at the company’s facility in Shady Grove, Pa., October 3-8. Throughout the week, attendees had the opportunity to interact with nearly two dozen Manitowoc, Grove, National Crane and Potain cranes on display. Manitowoc also offered the opportunity to operate several models.
In addition, representatives from Manitowoc Crane Care and Manitowoc Finance were available to provide information regarding parts, service and training as well as financing options.
Larry Weyers, executive vice president for Manitowoc Cranes in the Americas region, said even during challenging economic times, it is important to focus on product innovation.
“The cranes that we showcased this week are a testament to Manitowoc’s on-going commitment to our customers to provide the most productive and profitable cranes,” he said. “Despite the severe economic challenges we are all facing, Manitowoc has not wavered from its commitment to innovative design.”
The newest addition to Grove’s rough-terrain crane product line was unveiled at the event. The 150 USt capacity RT9150E is the world’s largest rough-terrain crane, and its 197 ft main boom is the longest on any current production rough-terrain crane. Also on display from Grove was the GMK6300L. This 350 USt capacity all-terrain crane was launched at bauma 2010 held in Munich, Germany in April of this year. Crane Expo marks the first time the crane was seen in the United States. With a 262 ft main boom, the crane can handle a range of heavy lifting without the need to rig the jib.
A Manitowoc 16000 represented Manitowoc crawler cranes at the event. The 440 USt capacity crane was outfitted with a wind attachment, a special boom tip that increases the capacity of the crane by 49 percent when working at the close radii required for erecting wind turbines.
Potain tower and self-erecting cranes were also on display. Both Igo self-erecting cranes and top-slewing tower cranes were erected at the event. Also on hand was an Ultra-View cab, Manitowoc’s innovative tower crane cab with improved visibility and improved features for operator comfort.
Other cranes at the event were two of the newest cranes in the National Crane boom truck line, the NBT 50 and the NBT 45, and several models from the YardBoss and Shuttlelift brands.
Weyers said that the unprecedented number of visitors at this customer event showed great optimism in the industry.
“We were encouraged by the interest our customers and dealers showed during the event,” he said. “While many areas of the economy are still very slow to recover, a renewed interest in infrastructure development, plus the generally positive outlook across the energy industry, has given us hope for a solid recovery. Our cranes are suited to these applications, and we are cautiously optimistic about the near term.”
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