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Open house attendees in Madison, Wis., watch as the Igo MA13 unfolds. |
October 19, 2005 — In the past few months, Lift and Access 360 has reported on the new Potain Igo MA13 self-erecting crane's road trip from the West Coast to New England to the Southeast. Now it's making its way through the Midwest. Dawes Rigging and Crane Rental showed the smallest Potain self erector, the Igo MA13, at its Madison and Chippewa Falls, Wis., facilities on October 12 and 13, reaping attention from area contractors at the open house events.
As the Igo MA13 rolled through Wisconsin, Bruce Bayless, sales specialist for Dawes Rigging and Crane Rental, the Potain dealer in Wisconsin, said the open house events hit a full range of contractors, including masonry contractors and single-family house and condominium builders, who were interested in self-erecting cranes. The Igo MA13's compact size gave attendees an idea of what to expect from the self-erecting crane concept, which completely unfolds in only 30 minutes.
Other key features of the Igo MA13 include its 72-foot jib and 68'3” maximum hook height, which can be attained with the jib manually offset at 20°. Maximum lifting capacity is 3,968 pounds. The Igo MA13 is controlled via a radio remote control with a 300-foot radius, making it easy for the operator to work near the load while it is being placed. This crane is completely transportable and can be pulled behind a truck such as a Ford F-650 that has air brakes, a pintle hook, and can tow up to 24,000 pounds.
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Dawes' open house guests check out the Igo MA13's specs. |
Larry Breneman, one of the owners of McFarland, Wis.-based KBS Construction, a general contractor that services Madison, Milwaukee, and the areas in between, said he first learned about self-erecting cranes from Dawes in April and attended the open house in Madison. “We have a specific project in Milwaukee that requires a crane that had to be used in a courtyard and also erect steel in a second courtyard,” Breneman said.
While the Igo MA13 gave him an idea of how the self erectors' work, he said he would be looking at a larger self erector, such as the HDT80, to suit his project's needs.
Also attending the Madison open house was Tim Gessler, general field superintendent for J.H. Findorff & Son, a commercial contractor with locations in Madison and Milwaukee. Gessler said he was generally very impressed with the crane. “The ease of erection went nice and smooth,” he said. “I liked the ability to have the operator run the crane from a remote location.”
Gessler said he also liked that the Igo MA13 eliminated the need for an additional person for rigging. “The operator could operate the crane and do a small amount of rigging by himself,” he said.
Findorff has built multi-million dollar homes on the lakes in Madison, which has what Gessler calls touchy terrain. “It would've been a perfect crane for this type of job,” he said. “This crane's got its place in extraordinary conditions.”
Many contractors' first thoughts about the MA13 limit its application to smaller jobs, however, Bayless said he sees a place for self erectors in large contractors' fleets as well. “Big contractors have to either pour a concrete base or use a city base for their [top slewing] tower cranes,” Bayless said, explaining that this process could take up to three weeks to cure. All the Potain self erectors will erect in a day, Bayless said. “Contractors like a crane that can set up quickly and place loads safely.”
On October 20, Dawes will hold another open house at its headquarters in Milwaukee, where contractors can see a demonstration of the Potain Igo 50, the Igo MA21, and the HDT80 self erectors, as well as view a brand-new Link-Belt HTC 8650 truck crane, RTC8075 rough-terrain crane, and an LS218 crawler crane, which is down-rated from 110 tons to 100 tons to avoid the state's oiler requirement, and Dawes' line of JLG, Lull, and Sky Trak telescopic handlers and Snorkel aerial work platforms. Dawes will host its last open house featuring the Igo MA13 at its Kaukauna location on October 21.
