Starting in 2015, Sennebogen Maschinenfabrik will produce a series of compact telescopic crawler cranes at the Straubing location in Lower Bavaria as OEM products for the Manitowoc/Grove sales and service organization.
Manitowoc is one of the world’s largest crane manufacturers with a strong and extensive sales network of dealers, especially in North America and South America. Currently its product range includes lattice boom crawler cranes, rough-terrain and all-terrain cranes, truck cranes, and tower cranes but not telescopic crawler cranes.
Consequently, an agreement has now been reached between Sennebogen and Manitowoc concerning a long-term strategic partnership to combine the strengths of both enterprises for market entry with telescopic crawler cranes for the North and South American market. In this regard, Sennebogen will produce a range of three telescopic crawler cranes for Manitowoc/Grove with the following maximum safe working loads: 55t, 75t, and 130t. Manitowoc will sell the products under its own brand name with the Grove type designations GHC 55, GHC 75, and GHC 130.
The trio of compact Grove Hydraulic Crawlers (GHC) are designed to handle the most unforgiving terrain and offer the benefits of small crawler cranes with the versatility of telescoping booms. Due to their compact dimensions and transportability, Grove GHC cranes will save time and money for contractors and end users before the job even begins. Once these innovative cranes reach the job site, no assist crane is needed for on-site assembly.
The GHC series cranes’ compact footprint provides excellent maneuverability on the job site and can handle all types of job site conditions. Mountainous or swampy terrain, for example, is easily navigable, and the cranes work well in congested spaces.
Mike Herbert, global product director for rough-terrain cranes at Manitowoc, said the GHC series is ideal for companies that need a simple-to-operate, compact telescopic crawler crane to navigate terrain that won’t accommodate other types of equipment.
“The GHC series is for customers that need a compact, maneuverable crane that can face the rigors of merciless terrain,” he said. “With minimal transport requirements, 100% pick-and-carry ability and a telescoping boom, these cranes will prove very nimble in both getting to and navigating job sites.”
Offered for sale exclusively in the North and Latin American markets as part of a long-term strategic partnership between Manitowoc and Sennebogen, the Grove GHC Series cranes are fully supported by Manitowoc Crane Care’s service network.
All three cranes in the GHC series offer the ability to pick-and-carry at 100% of their load chart and can swing loads a full 360°. This makes them ideal for applications such as utility projects, where the cranes can carry loads across the job site, adjusting boom length as necessary.
“The GHC series has very clear benefits for users,” Herbert said. “We know that these cranes will become a valuable and versatile lifting tool in a lot of companies’ fleets.”
Sales of Sennebogen material handling machines began in North America in the year 2000. Due to the fast and nationwide service, as well as the dense dealer network, the company achieved a leading role in the North American market within six years.
In addition to competence in the area of material handling, Sennebogen also has more than 20 years of extensive experience in the design, production, and sales of telescopic crawler cranes.
The machines, which are built for demanding use, have already proven themselves over an extended period of time in many European and Asian markets. Now a sales structure has also been defined for the Americas.
In addition to the product, Manitowoc will offer its well-known spectrum of services for maintenance, service, spare parts, and financing. The equivalent products from the Sennebogen product range Sennebogen 653, 673, and 6113 will not be offered in these sales regions. All other Sennebogen products and their existing distribution channels will not be affected by this agreement.
With this agreement, Sennebogen obtains a complete market entry in the Americas, and Manitowoc/Grove can immediately offer robust telescopic crawler cranes that have been tried and proven over many years in many applications for the benefit of its own customers.
The contract was signed in November 2014, and both firms are quite confident of a successful market introduction.
