Faster towers
15 February 2016
Kramer Kran has started an export drive with its installation system for self erecting tower cranes. Following a two year testing phase with 40 units sold and around 600 crane installations and removals completed, The German company said it is ready to begin pushing exports.
Low returns, tight margins and high investment costs are an unwelcome feature of the tower crane rental industry so any advantage that increases efficiency by saving time and therefore money is particularly welcome. A major cost element in the process is crane erection, dismantling and transport. Conventional technology for this alone is such that a long time is needed before the outlay for the machine is paid off.
KramerKran has an international patent on its installation system. The system is designed to save time, manpower and money while also increasing security for employees, the manufacturer said. It allows one person with one truck tractor and low loader trailer to assemble and-or disassemble up to three cranes a day, the manufacturer claimed, equating to between 50 and 70 installations over a month (20 working days). This doubles or triples the revenue compared with a conventional method, the company said.
Time for setting up or dismantling a self erector using KramerKran is given as being 1.5 hours, against about six hours for a conventional system. A large proportion of that 70 % time saving is from using a device that allows installation of the ballast in one piece, instead of needing a separate crane making multiple lifts of individual concrete counterweight slabs. Control of this operation is carried out remotely which increases safety for personnel.
Once the crane is installed the truck and low loader trailer are free to leave the site and continue working. The system can accommodate cranes with jibs up to 40 metres.
In early 2015 KramerKran signed an agreement with Manitowoc Potain to sell its installation system with Igo series Potain cranes. “With Manitowoc Potain as a strong partner, also in regard of support and after sales service, we are now ready to answer international demands,” said KramerKran.
See a video of the Kramer Kran in action at:
