Capital Equipment News July 2018

MATERIALS HANDLING NEWS

JCH bolsters fleet at branches

Consistently increased demand for medium to large range mobile cranes has seen John- son Crane Hire strengthen its position as the leading crane hire company by ensuring that these machines are readily available directly from its branch network. Peter Yaman, sales executive at Johnson Crane Hire, says the company proactively monitors crane usage at its 14 branches. “Our customer driven focus has always been to ensure that crane hire needs are met in the individual regions we service, and this is only possible by maintaining close relationships with existing customers and understanding the market demands.” Yaman says analysis of the usage and demand statistics allows the company to plan ahead, and this has seen the company take delivery of one 250 t and two 140 t machines with two 100 t mobile cranes due for delivery mid-2018. This level of planning facilitates the phased delivery of the new machines as well as the reallocation of cranes from the existing fleet to the Johnson Crane Hire branches that need them, thereby facilitating optimum availability. “It is not unusual to reallocate various capacity mobile cranes to those branches that have shown increased demand, and by doing this we empower our team in those regions to offer an even more rapid response,” Yaman Manitowoc has reorganised its tower crane structure for Europe and Africa so that self-erecting tower cranes (GMA cranes) and top-slewing cranes (GME cranes) are being run independently in terms of produc- tion and product management. The new structure has the sole objective of better serving Manitowoc’s tower customers and dealers through customer focus, market intelligence, operations efficiency and high-quality crane production, on time and on price. Two years ago, Manitowoc split its tower and mobile businesses to increase customer focus and enhance the capabilities of both businesses. Since then, the crane manufacturer has identified similar potential in managing its tower business differently, as Orlando Mota, sales vice president for tower cranes in Europe and Africa, explains. “GMA and GME are two different products that serve different types of applications,” he says.

Johnson Crane Hire recently took delivery of one 250 t and two 140 t cranes.

says. “It is all about having the appropriate mobile cranes available where and when the customer needs.” Examples of the reallocation of machines within the current fleet are the moving of a 440 t unit to Cape Town last year, and more recently a 275 t machine to Durban and a 275 t to Burgersfort. Commenting on the new machines acquired by the company, Yaman says the Liebherr LTM 1250 mobile crane is not new to the Johnson Crane Hire fleet, “They require different market approaches and ultimately follow two different roadmaps. In addition to giving independent visions to GME and GMA, we have recognised the need to create operations strategies that individually cater to GMA and GME. Allowing our factories to focus on a specific product will make them more effective, particularly regarding production capacity and delivery times,” adds Mota. The new tower cranes organisation is based on five fundamental pillars: GME, GMA, Sales & Aftermarket, Engineering, and Finance & Administration. Manitowoc’s regional sales and Crane Care teams remain unchanged. GME pillar is under the leadership of Christophe Simoncelli, VP GME Tower Cranes, who is leading the two European GME factories in Moulins and Porto, and is responsible for GME product management. GMA pillar is managed

however unlike the existing six axle LTM 1250-6.1 machines in the fleet, the new 250 t unit is a five-axle machine making it more compact and lightweight. This provides the manoeuvrability to operate in confined spaces where previously this was not possible. In addition to this, the LTM 1250-5.1 is equipped with and driven by a single engine which drives both the carrier and the upper crane. This translates into a significant weight saving as well as a reduction in operation and maintenance requirements. ❂ by Giorgio Angelino, VP GMA Tower Cranes, who is leading the European GMA factories of Charlieu and Niella Tanaro, and is responsible for GMA product management. Sales & Aftermarket activities for Europe-Africa is helmed by Orlando Mota, VP Sales & Aftermarket. His new role involves taking on the Aftermarket division, which is grouped by High Service Support, Parts, Logistics, and Used Cranes & EnCORE programs, in addition to all marketing communications activities. Engineering for all tower cranes ranges is headed up by Bruno Roni-Damond, VP Engineering, who is working closely with Simoncelli and Angelino to provide superior engineering support. Finally, Finance & Administration is managed by Jean-Noel Gros, VP Finance, who has taken over all Administrative Services including finances and Human Resources responsibilities. ❂

New Manitowoc tower crane structure for Europe and Africa

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