There was a media event held in the last few weeks that has the crane industry buzzing. Manitowoc unveiled a brand new crawler crane and it is awesome!

Manitowoc MLC100-1 Is The Quickest To Erect

When it comes to getting the job done, erecting a crane still takes time and that costs money. According to Manitowoc, the MLC100-1 is "the quickest crane to erect and decommission in its class". Moving a crawler crane to a construction site can sometimes take days and that will add costs to a project total. Manitowoc set out to develop and build a crawler crane that can be setup quickly to help with that.

How Does The MLC100-1 Save Time?

Because all the pieces that are required to put a crane together take time to assemble, the MLC100-1 takes the pain away with a "self-assembly hook". This hook design allows the counterweights to be installed without any assistance. Manitowoc says, "During assembly, the crane uses a single segment of hoist line with a button termination, which is routed through sheaves in the boom butt.."

For a more technical explanation, product manger Brennan Seeliger was asked about the new design.

“The main differentiation in terms of self assembly as far as this machine goes is we added the sheaves in the boom butt. We can run a load line over those and use that for self assembly. This is different from the competition and our previous product in which you needed the boom top installed on the machine to run a load line,” he says. “In addition to that we have a smaller white sheave in the lower part of the boom butt that we wrap the wire rope around to install the carbody counterweights. Previously, a come along or some outside assist was required to move the counterweights in far enough and get that short radius to hang the carbody counterweights. So this solution is what we came up with and it’s worked really well so far.”

What Is Inside The Cab?

Inside the brand new cab design, the operator will find that it is much wider than previous crane models. Adding more room to the cab allows operators easier access to the left-hand console, as well as the grab bars. The consoles are a little smaller/narrower and that added about 10% more legroom according to Seeliger. Once you get into the cab, others claim the difference is space is extremely noticeable.

The cab also features a high back seat with head rest, improved heating and cooling system, as well as, electronic seat controls. Most of the new cab design features are going to be implemented throughout the Manitowoc crane lineup the next few years.

Getting the crane to do the heavy lifting is done via the Manitowoc Crane Control System (CCS). On that, Seeliger said, "The biggest thing with the CCS is that it’s electric over hydraulic control which is somewhat unique in this size class...It allows us to fine tune the operation and provide a better user experience to the customer.”

Maintenance Is Also Much Easier

Getting the MLC100-1 into the shop and performing routine maintenance has never been easier. According to the marketing materials from the company, "high-visibility sight glasses and quick drains on ever gear box."

Overall, the new crawler crane looks pretty sweet! What do you think of the details and the new cab design? Maybe this would be a good addition to the Manitowoc Heavy Lift crane lineup at Weiss Brothers Enterprise, LLC!

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