Jones Equipment and SPT mini crawler cranes

With sustainability and the reduction of carbon footprints on the agenda of crane hire businesses, there is a defi nite move to battery electric cranes, particuarly in the mini crane sector. SPT BATTERY ELECTRIC MINI CRAWLERS GROWING IN POPULARITY

MICHAEL KHAMAS, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR

for SPT’s national distributor Jones Equipment, discussed the rise in demand for the battery electric range of SPT mini crawler cranes.

“SPT’s battery electric range are being sold all around the world and the demand is high in mature markets, such as Europe, and also all over Asia. The demand for battery electric mini crawler cranes is only going to increase,” said Khamas.

“The push for more sustainability and less emissions in the crane and lifting sector is driving the demand, and major crane hire companies are looking to do the right thing from an environmental point of view. Running costs are also dramatically higher when using diesel fuels over battery operated power.

“The demand is also being driven by industry sectors where fuel emissions are not acceptable, and this includes most indoor applications, e.g., food processing plants where a mini crawler might be required for maintenance work or a shutdown,” he said.

There are currently three SPT mini crane models available in the battery electric option says Khamas.

“The SPT factory has been manufacturing the battery electric range for a couple of years now and, at the moment, it is manufacturing battery electric versions, including the two-tonne capacity SPT 199, the three-tonne capacity SPT 299 and the fi ve-tonne capacity 499, and the engineering team is currently developing a battery electric version of the largest crane in the range, the SPT 1009.

“The SPT 199 is only 600mm wide and will fi t through a standard doorway. It has a lifting capacity of 2t at 2m and a maximum working

radius of 5.9m. The SPT 1009 has a lifting capacity of 10t at 2.5m and a maximum working radius of 19m. You can also increase the reach with a jib and fl y,” he said.

The move to battery electric has been gradual overseas and Khamas can see the move to battery electric will be the same locally.

“Although the SPT range comes with both diesel and electric as standard, I can see the market will take some educating regarding moving to battery electric, he said.

“In some cases, the applications don’t warrant a battery electric option, especially when crane is operating out in the open.

“I know there will be questions asked about the length of the battery charge and this obviously depends on the application and how much lifting and travelling the crane is doing. But, typically, the charging time for the battery will be 10 hours and, when it’s fully charged, the crane will operate for 7.2 hours. Obviously, this will be less if the crane is travelling. Like the diesel electric model, the crane can be plugged into the mains if electricity is available on the site,” said Khamas.

There is no doubting the quality of the SPT mini crane product, and it will be the same for the battery electric range says Khamas. He has also been impressed with the responsive nature of the SPT factory.

“We’ve been impressed with the quality of the cranes we’ve brought Australia and we’ve also been impressed with how responsive the factory has been to our requests.

“At the end of last year, we received an out of the ordinary request for a major steel erecting business in Melbourne and they wanted a hydraulic jib fi tted to a fi ve-tonne capacity mini crawler crane.

“This size of crane normally comes with a mechanical jib, not with a hydraulic jib. It is a complex process to fi t a hydraulic jib on a mini crawler crane and not many manufacturers would take on such a project. The client has been using mini crawler cranes for 15 years, he also has some larger cranes in his fl eet. Some of these larger cranes are fi tted with hydraulic jibs and he wanted to know if we could fi t a hydraulic jib to one of our 499, mini crawlers which has a fi ve-tonne capacity at 2.2m.

“We talked to the factory and explained the request. SPT’s design and engineering team collaborated on the project, designing a prototype and then fi tting this to the crane. It has since been fully tested and complies with all Australian standards,” he said.

Pre-delivery is being conducted on all cranes and they are CraneSafe approved to ensure they meet Australian and EN 13000 standards. Every nut and bolt is tagged to confi rm it has been checked and every machine is tested by the crane

inspectors. A Scanreco intelligent remote control is standard on all models and each feature the Yanmar diesel engine and an electric motor, says Khamas.

Khamas went onto explain how SuperService is working closely with Jones Equipment and the SPT product.

“We’ve been impressed with the quality of the cranes we’ve brought Australia and we’ve also been impressed with how responsive the factory has been to our requests.”

SPT’s battery electric range are being sold all around the world and the demand is high in mature markets such as Europe as well as throughout Asia.

“SuperService is managing all of our pre-deliveries and the two-year warranty. They will also be managing any repairs Australia-wide. Right now, anyone operating on the east coast can have their crane serviced by SuperService and they will fi x any warranty related issues; not that we expect many,” he said.

“We want the market to understand we are all about meeting the customers’ needs. When a customer spends $200K on a crane, and if there is an issue, he wants to be confi dent it’s going to be fi xed quickly and the crane will be back to work and earning money.

“SuperService has facilities in Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne, as well as a growing fl eet of service vehicles. We will be working with them to provide the quickest service we can if and when there is an issue.

“I can see the battery electric range of SPT mini cranes gaining in popularity, it’s just a matter of time.

“Look at the forklift industry, 20 years ago, diesel and LPG-powered forklifts dominated the market and battery electric forklifts were a niche product. Now it’s the reverse with battery electric dominating the market.

“It will be the same with battery electric mini cranes. The market is evolving and the benefi ts of battery electric cranes are being understood. We are confi dent the SPT range will continue to gain traction within the Australian market especially the battery electric range,” he said.

All models in the SPT range include a new streamlined and compact Scanreco remote-control system from Germany.

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