Kranenbouw takes on Zoomlion

Dutch tower crane company Kranenbouw has been appointed exclusive Zoomlion tower crane dealer for the Benelux countries and Poland.

On offer for sale and to rent are the ten models of the Chinese manufacturer's hammerhead and flat top tower cranes that have been CE marked. They are in the 260 to 350 tonne-metre range with capacities from 6 to 25 tonnes. "We are aiming for the big cranes in Europe," Edwin van Zitteren, Kranenbouw director, told IC.

Eight are hammerheads and two are flat tops. Another flat top, the TCT5513-8, is scheduled for early April. There are no plans to bring in a luffing jib model at the moment, van Zitteren said. The first two cranes are on a ship from the factory due to arrive on 28 March. They are a TC7527-20 and a TC7030B-12. Following erection they will be checked over and tested prior to demonstration and installation. One of the two is booked to go out on rental.

Delivery time with transport is quoted as 3.5 to four months. In addition to tower crane sales, parts, maintenance, erection and dismantling services, Kranenbouw has manufacturing facilities but there are no plans for Zoomlion tower sections or other components. Zoomlion is manufacturing 13 tower cranes a day in China, van Zitteren said.

Kranenbouw will hold the spare parts stock for Zoomlion towers in Europe and it will house the service and training centre. The CE marking was done by TüV and a notified body in Europe, van Zitteren said. The cranes for the European market have a different cabin. Kranenbouw is working with Zoomlion to find dealers for the rest of Europe.

In 1969 Kranenbouw was started near Eindhoven in the Netherlands as a tower crane assembly and dismantling service for the construction industry. Since then it has added rental, mainly in the Benelux and western Germany, plus sales of used, overhauled and new tower cranes worldwide, servicing and parts. In 2006 Kranenbouw started production of Jost flat top tower cranes. A recent development is diversification into aerial work platforms and other lifting equipment sold through Kranenbouw Platforms.

The Zoomlion models offered in Europe with CE are as follows:

TC5013B-6

TC6015A-10

TC6016A-8

TC6515B-12

TC6517B-10

TC7030B-12

TC7052-25

TC8039-25

TCT5510-6

TCT7527-20