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PRODUCTS AERIALPLATFORMS
IRN JUNE 2014
Fearon, Terex AWP president. “We find the rental
companies talk tousmuchmore than inpriorcycles,
and are talking longer term. Then in sixmonths you
meet with them again and they are sticking with
their plans. So, I thinkwe are in a really good spot.”
On the subject of emerging markets, South
America, Brazil in particular, is one of the most
talked about, “Obviously its growth has been
extraordinary and you’d think there is plenty of
runway for growth there yet, but as inanyemerging
market there are still challenges, thewhole concept
is still evolving,” commentsMr Nerenhausen.
“If you look at a typical US job site that has 200
machines and you look at similar jobsite in Brazil it
mayhave20-25machineson it, so there is still quite
a bit of penetration for those types of.”
China too has its challenges; there is growth, but
it’s marginal and manufacturers are in a perpetual
waiting game. “China is going to be a hugemarket,
but I don’t know when,” says Mr Fearon, “I would
say it is developing slowlyandwe turned the corner
withprofitability in 2013.”
Last year Terex AWP’s Genie brand changed its
strategy inChinabydropping thescissor andbooms
it launched for theChinesemarketatBaumaChina in
2012. The company is now focussing on its standard
worldwideproducts at its factory inChangshou. “We
started trying todo these low cost alternativeswith
less features so that we could get that price point.
But we found over time that China is no different to
EasternEuropeor other places - theywant the same
spec. Sowe shiftedour strategy tomaking the core
higher volume products inChina for the country.”
Superbooms
Between them, JLG and Terex have established the
era of the superboom. JLG launched the world’s
largest self-propelled boom, the 185 ft (56.4 m)
working height 1850SJ Ultra Boom at ConExpo. It
rivals TerexAWP’s 180 ft (54.9m) GenieSX-180boom,
first presented at Bauma last year.
The JLG 1850SJ delivers 19 storeys of working
height, and, the manufacturer says, has moved
AWPs into applications previously reserved for
truck-mounted booms. It offers almost three
million ft
3
(84951 m
3
) of reachable space and an
80 ft (24.4 m) outreach. Maximum capacity is 1000
lbs (454 kg) and the boom extends from ground
to full height in less than five minutes. It is aimed
at applications, including steel erection, energy-
related construction, power generation, stadiums,
convention centres and theatre construction.
The Genie SX-180 offers a 180 ft (54.9 m) vertical
reach and 80 ft (24.4 m) horizontal reach. The 8 ft
by 3 ft (2.4 m by 0.91 m) working platform has an
unrestricted capacity of 750 lbs (340 kg) and a 180
o
rotating jib.
Following the launch of these two monsters, are
other manufacturers gearing up to produce a 190
ft (57.9m) boom, or at least amodel in that height
range? The answer, generally, seems to be no, for
now at least.
Skyjacks’ biggest telescopicboom is the72 ft (21.9
m) working height, or 66 ft (20.1 m) platform height
SJ66T. Brad Boehler, Skyjack president, says he is
more interested in filling out the smaller boom line
first. Talking about the two superbooms from JLG
and Terex AWP, he adds, “Maybe they will create a
market space, but it will be awhile beforewe get to
100 ft (39.5 m). It will be a few years before we are
competing in thatmarket space”
At the moment the company is working on an
80 ft (24.4 m) platform height model. Before that
the company will be working on a small articulated
boom, and then an 80 ft (24.4m) articulated boom.
“Products have to be safe and meet requirements.
It becomes more and more complicated the bigger
youget.”
Apart from the control system and boom
length, there is the ground pressure to take into
consideration. “In certain configurations you may
have 50% of the load on one wheel, and you need
to be aware of the fact it could punch through the
floor,” addsMr Boehler.
Alexander Saubot, president of Haulotte Group, is
adamant that his companywill not seea superboom
to match the likes of the SX-180 or 1850SJ anytime
soon. He says, “I don’t believe that we should spend
that much money on that type of machine. We will
The 185 ft (56.4 ) JLG 1850SJ Ultra Boom
has 3million cubic feet of reachable space.
Custom Equipment was showing its Hybrid-Lift range at ConExpo.
