23
MARCH-APRIL 2014
access
INTERNATIONAL
I
t came as little surprise to many that JLG
would rival Terex AWP’s 180 ft Genie
SX-180, first presented at Bauma last year.
The SX-180 has just gone into full production
with the first unit expected to be delivered to
Europe in March of this year.
JLG had already told
AI
in June of last year
that it planned to produce a new superboom,
and at ConExpo in March this year it duly
launched the 185 ft Ultra Boom 1850SJ - the
world’s largest boom. It delivers 19 stories of
working height, and, the manufacturer says,
has moved AWPs into applications previously
reserved for truck-mounted booms.
Speaking to
AI,
JLG president Frank
Nerenhausen was keen to point out the history
behind the 1850SJ. “The big boom market is a
space we have always enjoyed and it is a space
we have always innovated in.The 1850SJ is
the latest extension of that strategy, and it is a
strategy.We chart these products out several
years in advance. Customers’ desires evolve as
technology evolves, as material science evolves.
The opportunity to reach out higher and
further continues to move in that direction.”
The 1850SJ offers almost three million cubic
feet of reachable space and an 80 ft outreach.
The machine offers a maximum capacity of
1000 pounds and the boom extends from
ground to full height in less than
>
Big business
The era of the
superboom has been
firmly established with
the launch of JLG’s new
185 ft offering at ConExpo.
What does the future
hold and which other
manufacturers will join
in?
Euan Youdale
reports.
five minutes.
The unit weighs 60300
pounds, requiring it to have a special
overweight permit, but it does not
require an oversize transportation permit.
The 1850SJ includes a telescopic jib that
extends and retracts to provide additional
reach, up-and-over capability and the ability to
telescope into and around structures in a variety
of applications, including steel erection; energy-
related construction, such as petrochemical,
power generation and wind plants; stadium,
convention centre and theatre construction; and
entertainment and studio-related applications.
A turbo diesel engine provides 99.8
horsepower and there is standard four-wheel
drive and four-wheel steer.
Patent queries
With the JLG and Terex AWP machines
hovering close to the limits of AWP
technological possibilities, pressures have been
mounting between the two companies. Terex
AWP sent JLG Industries a notice of possible
patent infringement for the design of JLG’s
chassis on its new 185 ft boom lift - a claim
that JLG denies.
“I can’t go into a lot of detail about it, but you
can probably look at [ JLG’s 1850SJ chassis]
and see there are a lot of similarities [compared
to the Genie SX-180],” Brad Allen, vice
president of marketing, product management
and engineering for Genie, tells
AI
sister
magazine
ALH
at ConExpo.
“Our patent was originally applied to the
ZX-135 back in 2006.We’ve maintained the
design aspect of that with our 180.”
Both boom lifts use an X-shaped chassis to
achieve stability while making transportation
SUPERBOOMS
A pair of JLG Ultra Boom 1850SJ’s raised to full height at ConExpo in Las Vegas, USA.
The JLG 1850SJ has 3
million cubic feet
of reachable
space.
