SELF-PROPELLED BOOMS
16
access
INTERNATIONAL
MAY-JUNE 2013
therefore we feel ready to enter and develop
the medium-high tracked aerial platform
sector,” said Carlo Molesini, Platform Basket
managing and sales director.The 33.15 is
powered by a Kubota diesel engine and a
back-up 12 volt powerpack.The hybrid 33.15
ED version has the Kubota engine and deep-
cycle 24 volt battery.
Italian manufacturer Socage is also
developing into this area with the launch of
a new 28 m double articulated platform.The
new Forste 28D is mounted on a 3.5 tonne
chassis, a new record for the company.The
previous 28 m model, DA328, is mounted on
a 5.6 tonne truck.
The Forste 28D is able to reach 28 m
working height, while SWL is 300 kg and
maximum outreach is 14 m. It also has
electro-hydraulic controls.The new 3.5 tonne
truck design means that anyone with a driving
license can hire it, and it is practicalities like
this that are driving modern boom design.
Another example comes with Skyjack’s 63-
foot rough terrain SJ 63AJ, now in production.
The unit was introduced as a prototype at
the 2012 Rental Show in New Orleans.
Production units were on display at this year’s
Rental Show in Las Vegas. “Key to the design
of the 63 AJ was a base weight of 21,200
pounds, allowing two machines to be shipped
on a standard 53-foot flatbed, even with some
of the typical options ordered, such as foam-
filled tires and welder-ready packages,” the
Sinoboom’s new factory in China will
eventually produce 2000 articulated
and telescopic booms a year
company said.
The SJ 63AJ has a platform height of 63
feet, 7 inches and an up-and-over clearance
of 27 feet, 2 inches.The unit also features 40
feet of horizontal reach. The new boom can be
powered by either a dual fuel or diesel engine
and shares common powertrain, hydraulic and
electrical components. It has a Dana axle and
4-wheel drive.
China on show
A notable development at bauma was an
increase in Chinese manufacturers.This was
the first time Dingli, Mantall and JHC, a new
manufacturer from the country, has shown at
bauma, (see the bauma review starting on
page 21).
Dingli was showing a new articulated,
self-propelled boom, the 16 m working
height GTB216A. It was launched in January
for the China market but now it has been
CE Marked and Dingli is looking to begin
export.The unit on the stand has been sold to
Turkey-based rental company Fatih Vinc.
The company said Chinese manufacturers
could now provide high quality products at
a lower price level, however it did say that
residual value was difficult to calculate because
the products had not been in the market for
long enough.
Fellow Chinese manufacturer Sinoboom
also has serious intentions. It opened a new
factory in Changsha in late April. Once in
full production, Sinoboom says it will produce
3000 scissors and 2000 articulated and
telescopic booms annually - significantly more
than the 300 units manufactured in 2012.
Turnover could reach RMB800 million each
year, added the company.
The new factory will cover about 200,000
square metres. So far, one third, or 66,000
square metres of the facility, has been
completed.The other two thirds are due to be
completed in the next 4 to 5 years. Sinoboom
was founded in 2008. Its turnover in 2012 was
RMB120million, with exports contributing
65% of total revenue.
While manufacturers in China are looking
out, their counterparts in the west are looking
in. Both JLG and Terex AWP are making
simplified products in their Chinese factories
for the local market and other developing
countries.
The JLG 18 and 24 m 18RS and 24RS are
booms with basic specifications and lighter
weights than JLG’s equivalent 600 Series and
800 Series booms made in the US. “They have
everything you need, and nothing you don’t,”
said Jeff Ford, JLG global product director.
Both models have fixed axles, 360 degree
rotation (not continuous), 4WD/2WS and
a single 230 kg cage capacity. No jibs are
available with the booms.
Meanwhile, Terex AWP has launched
the first of a new range of low-cost aerial
platforms designed and built in China and
targeted at emerging markets.The first two
models in the ‘Skysafe by Genie’ range are the
12 m V1200 telescopic boom and the PS500
electric powered, push-around scissor lift.
The two models were designed and built at
Terex AWP’s Changzhou facility in China
and will be targeted at emerging markets in
China, wider Asia, India, Latin America and
the Middle East, with some possibilities to sell
the scissor lift in developed markets as well.
The powered access sector in China could
be looking at a huge boom in activity as
safety regulations change. As part of the
country’s 12th Five Year Plan (2011-2015),
the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural
Development has set a target of reducing
scaffold use by more than 50%, according to
the China Academy of Building Research.
It said scaffolding collapses and falls from
height are the cause of 62% of all work-related
accidents in China. A spokesman for Terex
said it expected the AWP market to grow 25%
to 50% annualy in the years up to 2015, driven
by growth in the equipment and rental sector
in the country and by Chinese government
drives to improve worker safety, of which the
scaffolding replacement programme is one of
a number of examples.
■
The 22.5 m working height Haulotte HT23
RTJ was followed by its smaller brother
the HT21 RT earlier this year
