31
OCTOBER 2013
ACT
SELF-ERECTING TOWER CRANES
PRODUCT FOCUS
“The market for self-erecting tower
cranes is very similar to what we saw last
year,” says Heacock. “Regions with active,
multi-family housing markets have a
high utilization of rental fleets, however,
other regions are still struggling. We are
optimistic, though, that there will be
continued growth for these products in
2014.”
Self-erecting tower cranes
working on an infrastructure
project in Italy.
Expanding horizons
One way to improve utilization is to
break out of a niche market. Eagle
West has started to work in industrial
and commercial markets with its self-
erectors. The company currently has two
self-erectors working at the Scotiabank
Saddledome, a 17,000-seat, Calgary-based
stadium. In June the Saddledome was
flooded up to its eighth row of seats due to
intense rains. Eagle West has been on site
with its self-erector helping to repair the
entertainment complex.
“Companies are branching out beyond
their typical scope of business,” Davey
says. “They’re doing small commercial,
residential and multi-family. These
cranes are incredibly useful to have on a
jobsite versus a [rough terrain crane]. The
education factor has taken a while, but it’s
finally coming around.”
Despite the bright spots, Terex’s Angelo
Cosmo, product manager of the company’s
tower crane division, says self-erectors still
aren’t utilized nearly as much in North
America as they are in other countries
around the world, particularly Europe.
Cosmo says sales of self-erecting tower
cranes this year is similar to last year
with a slight increase, though nothing
comparable to 2008 levels, but following
the trend of U.S. construction activity,
Terex does expect 2014 to be a better
year for self-erectors than this year due to
increased activity.
“The market could improve further once
the product and advantages become more
widley known across the U.S.,” Cosmo
says.
For Liebherr-Werk Biberach GmbH,
which manufactures a range of self-
erecting tower cranes, demand has slightly
increased, but Gerd Booch, area sales
manager for Liebherr-Werk Biberach
GmbH, says the U.S. market is still small.
“We hope for improvement [in the
market] and that people become aware
of the advantages of self-erecting tower
cranes,” Booch says. “We think that the
self-erecting tower cranes could often
be the more economical solution but it’s
is tough for us to change habits. We are
always finding customers recognizing the
significance of the self-erecting concept,
and with our large experience from
Europe, where self-erecting cranes are
prevalent, we are convinced of the growth
potential.”
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