Active Crane Hire has added 72 Potain cranes to its stable as it contributes to Sydney’s building boom.
 |
This makes the Somersby-based business the largest owner of Manitowoc-distributed Potain tower cranes in Australia.
The 72 Potain cranes are mostly MCT 88, MCT 68, and MCT 205 topless units. Active Crane Hire has also added several Igo 36 and Igo 22 self-erecting models and the first two units in Australia from Potain’s advanced Hup range.
The company received two Hup 32-27 self-erecting cranes earlier this year and further new arrivals are expected in the coming months.
“Three years ago, we saw there was going to be an increase in residential building projects, especially medium-density developments (in Sydney),” Active Crane Hire managing director Hermann Buchberger says.
“So we knew the size and number of cranes we would need and that there would be a particular focus on developments over five stories. Work levels remain high and at present we’re handling around 100 residential projects a year.”
Several of Active Crane Hire’s Potain MCT 205 units are currently deployed on two of its highest profile projects: a luxury residential development in Eastwood with four towers of six stories each, and a luxury house on the waterfront of Point Piper, the most expensive suburb in Australia.
There are three MCT 205 cranes on the Eastwood project while at the Point Piper home development a single unit is helping with construction, having spent almost a year supporting excavation works.
Manitowoc says the MCT 205 is designed for fast transportation and assembly on site and, once erected, offers a maximum radius of 65m, a maximum capacity of 10 tonnes, and up to 1.75-tonne capacity at its jib end.
The company has also invested heavily in the smaller Potain MCT 68 and MCT 88 cranes, which are currently engaged on a host of residential developments across the wider Sydney metropolitan area.
“We like the compact MCT 68 and MCT 88 because we can fit them into tight spots,” Buchberger says, adding that another feature of the MCT 88 that is particularly well-liked by his team is its integrated remote control.
This function allows the contractor to free up an operator and employ them elsewhere on the job site.
“Sometimes the cranes might not be needed to work for long on a particular day,” Buchberger says. “So the cranes’ ability to be remotely controlled eliminates operator idle time and delivers cost savings to the job site.”
The MCT 88 has a maximum capacity of 5 tonnes and a maximum jib radius of 52m. It can lift up to 1.15 tonnes. at its jib end. The MCT 68 can lift a maximum of 3 tonnes and its maximum jib radius is 46m. At this distance it can handle up to 1.1 tonnes.