In 2018, Manitowoc's factory in Niella Tanaro, Italy boosted production of Grove rough-terrain cranes to better serve customers in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific, and this enhanced capability is highlighted at bauma 2019. The company is showing two rough-terrain cranes at the exhibition, a 100 t capacity GRT8100 and a 51 t capacity GRT655L. The GRT8100 on show was built at the Italian plant while Manitowoc plans to start building the GRT655L there in future.
Both cranes are also built at the Manitowoc factory in Shady Grove, Pennsylvania in the U.S. but the company took the strategic decision to broaden Italy's production capabilities following an extensive Voice of the Customer program.
Federico Lovera, regional product manager for rough-terrain cranes, said the manufacturing change delivers several cost and time advantages for customers.
"Our customers in Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific benefit greatly from our extension of RT crane production in Italy," he said. "For them it means shorter lead times, lower shipping costs and preferential import duties in countries that recognize the EUR1 certificate of origin. What's more with our company-wide focus on Lean initiatives and manufacturing excellence we can guarantee the specifications and quality of our RT cranes from Italy are the same as those for the cranes we manufacture in Shady Grove."
New range additions
The GRT8100 is the largest Grove rough-terrain crane built in the Italian plant. It has a 100 t capacity and 47 m five-section main boom, which provides better reach and greater versatility. The crane also features the Manitowoc Crane Control System (CCS) with its user-friendly interface, for easier and more efficient operations. Other features include a tilting cab and impressive load charts.
With a full complement of boom extension and insert options, the GRT8100 has best-in-class reach of 77 m. Both 10 m and 17 m manual and hydraulic offsettable extensions are available as well as a heavy-duty 3 m jib that can be offset to 40 degrees.
The GRT655L is a smaller, 51 t capacity crane yet it boasts similarly outstanding capabilities. It has a 43 m, five-section boom, giving it a reach advantage of 8 m over the closest-competing model. This longer boom gives it a maximum working radius of 36 m and a 80 percent greater chart capacity than competing cranes at that radius. Its exceptional chart capacities, maneuverability and longer boom length — combined with its compact 3 m by 12.8 m footprint — make it ideal for rental companies, where versatility and flexibility are key considerations. For greater customer choice, Grove also offers a regular boom version of the crane, the GRT655. This is built on the same platform as the GRT655L, but with one less boom section, for a total main boom length of 34.8 m.
Development of both cranes involved extensive component and machine testing via Manitowoc's Product Verification Center in Shady Grove. A two-year warranty is offered as standard for the GRT8100 and GRT655L.
