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First new model Kato city crane delivered

Tasmanian company Cranes Combined recently took delivery of the new Kato CR-250Rv city crane. It is the first of the new model to be delivered in Australia.

Cranes Combined, managing director, Chris Kolodziej discusses the important role smaller capacity cranes play in the business and the reasons for bringing the 25t capacity crane to Tasmania.

“Like most crane hire businesses, we have always had a number of smaller capacity cranes in our fleet. They are ideal for general hire, taxi work and managing lifts on sites where access is limited. For example, we’ve had an exceptional run with the Kobelco RK 70s over many years; they have been great performers for our business, and they were way ahead of their time with surprisingly good load charts.

“When we purchased Statewide Cranes, we expanded our capabilities, and our fleet in Hobart grew considerably. They were already running a 13t capacity Kato city crane and last year we bought a new Kato CR-130RF because the Kobelcos were getting older, and it was time to upgrade.

More recently, we were looking to purchase a new 20t city crane but came across the Kato CR-250 Rv as an alternative. Although the machine was larger in terms of dimensions, the load chart was far superior and this crane now gives us excellent capabilities in restricted areas, confined work sites etc. If this crane cannot access a site, then our existing 13t Katos will come into the picture.

“The performance of the Kato brand over an extended period of time has been first rate”, said Kolodziej.

“The first 13t Kato recently had its 10 year inspection, has been repainted and now presents as new. After purchasing the second, both continue to perform to our high expectations. The 25t capacity will complement the smaller city crane in the Hobart depot,” he said.

Kolodziej goes on to highlight where the city cranes fit into the Cranes Combined fleet and the types of applications they are suited for.

“The city cranes are particularly useful on jobs which are quite hard to access. It’s these applications where they really come into their own. They have far less tail swing when slewing, and this is a limiting factor on some of the sites in the tighter city areas.

The fact that the fly jib is so easy to instal in restricted areas is also an added advantage”, he said.

The CR-250Rv is the flagship of the Kato city crane range, complementing the CR-200Rf and the CR-130Rf.

Featuring several significant changes to meet Australian requirements (including EN13000), the new CR-250Rv is expected to turn heads on its arrival in the Australian workplace says Peter Lawgall, business development manager for Cranes at Tutt Bryant Equipment.

“As the largest city crane available in the Australian market, the CR-250Rv will take the Kato city crane range to a whole new level. The focus with this new model is on strength, technology, safety, speed of operation and ease of operation in small spaces,” said Lawgall.

The newly released crane is supported with a full Kato factory warranty and national support through Tutt Bryant Equipment’s extensive service and spare parts network.

The CR-250Rv features a new boom and jib, “EJIB” which is designed for deployment in very narrow spaces. It is the first CR model mobile crane equipped with the EJIB which is based on the Kato 4S concept. The 4S concept stands for:

1)         Slant Boom

2)         Safety

3)         Speedy

4)         Small Space

Two of the crane’s biggest features are the EJIB mechanism and a hydraulic luffing and telescoping fly which takes a single operator 10 minutes to ‘swing’. Ordinarily you are looking at two workers for a great deal longer to swing a standard luffing fly because everything is manual. Set up time is 10 minutes for a single operator.

New fully hydraulic fly jib

The Kato Super Luffing Fly Jib has only previously been available on the 35t city crane (Japanese domestic model). It is now fitted as standard on the CR-250Rv bringing the maximum rated lifting height, boom plus jib, to 38.4m. The fly jib hydraulically telescopes from 5.3m to 8.2m and can be mounted within a 5.7m area from the slew centre. It is fully powered and can telescope and offset under 100 per cent load.

Ergonomic cab

The cab impresses with an all-round excellent field of view and provides outstanding operator comfort due to the hydro-pneumatic suspension. Furthermore, it has a built-in IC tag providing high-level security, therefore reducing the risk of crane theft.

According to Lawgall, there are a number of important safety features included on the CR-250Rv.

“The Kato Automatic Crane System is (ACS) is an automatic safety device feature that instantly responds to any direct changes in various operating configurations. It has a range of limiting functions that increase safety during operation. With its high-intensity colour LCD, the new ACS makes operations easier as it provides illustrated key switches, enabling quick identification of their functions for each operation,” he said.

The Kato CR-250Rv has a number of advanced safety features that enhance safety during provide an even safer driving and/or crane operation, thereby minimising the risk of incidents. These include:

1) The surround view camera: which displays a real-time birds-eye view to the operator ensuring an all-around (360 degree) view for safer traveling and crane operation.

2) Human detect assist system: which assists the operator by detecting people near the crane that are not visible to the operator.

3) Anti-lock braking system (ABS): The CR-250Rv is equipped with ABS which further enhances braking power and significantly reduces braking distance especially on slippery surfaces.

Touch screen (COR) display – Data Logger

This is a coloured display showing various types information including:

  1. Fuel consumption
  2. Operations time, etc.

“The touch screen display, data logger also provides a range of functions which include the ECO switch which saves fuel by adjusting for optimum work engine speed during crane operation. During non-operation, the hydraulic pump outlet and fuel consumption are also greatly reduced thanks to the Auto-Minimum-Control adoption,” said Lawgall.

“The screen is massive giving the operator terrific all-round vision of the site. In my opinion this crane really is the next level for the city class cranes, as most models haven’t changed in such a long time. The CR-250Rv really is a quantum leap forward in terms of operator confidence, comfort and safety,” he said.

General specification for the Kato CR-250Rv include:

  • Maximum lifting capacity: 25t x 2.8m
  • Secondly, Boom length: 7m – 29.0m (six sections)
  • Jib length: 3m ~ 8.2m (two sections, hydraulic telescoping & luffing)
  • Engine: Cummins B6.7 (EU Stage5)
  • Overall Length: 195m
  • Overall Width: 395m
  • Overall Height: 495m
  • Gross Vehicle Weight: 23,795kg
  • Front Axle Weight: 11,895kg
  • Rear Axle Weight:             11,900kg

Optional Features

The two positional offset Searcher Hook is a breakthrough feature for inserting operations. This feature performs best where the height is limited including applications featuring warehouses, balconies and soffits.

Other optional features include: anemometer, tyre pressure monitoring system, door visor, lunch table, resin/aluminium outrigger plate and storage, and remote-control camera cleaner.

“The CR-250Rv is a game changer because it’s the first 25t city class crane to be exported out of Japan. This is a completely new model engineered from the ground up, not just an upgraded chart from a smaller model. The 25t model fits nicely in between Kato’s existing CR-200Rf (20t capacity) and larger all terrains,” said Lawgall.

Cranes Combined has had excellent service from various Kato cranes featuring in the fleet over many years, says Kolodziej.

“We’ve operated Kato cranes since we started the business 25 years ago, beginning with truck mounted cranes, and more recently, with the Kato City cranes.

We still have an older Kato truck crane, which is out every day and it has been a great, reliable workhorse. Kato is a very well established brand and overall we have had a very good run with them.

“We have a local Tutt Bryant outlet here and when we had a few small teething problems with the CR-130RF, it just turned out to be a bad contact, nothing more.

We have a mechanic who is really switched on and understands our machines which is a real benefit, particularly with COVID where technicians couldn’t travel interstate to our depots. He has looked after the general servicing and maintenance of our cranes by liaising with the various manufacturers,” he said.

“We now have over 30 cranes in our fleet, including numerous different brands.

We started with several Maedas, the Kobelcos, a number of Franna cranes, several Tadano  ATF 40s, a Tadano 25t rough terrain and a Tadano ATF 220.

We also operate Liebherrs including a 100t and 150t capacity all terrain and we have a number of Groves including 55t, 100t, 150t and 300t capacity all terrain machines. The mix of the fleet really revolves around what cranes we see being as most suitable for our customers today and what will suit the various market sectors we service into the future.

“There are occasions when I will have a preference on the brand, type of crane or capacity and this can govern what we buy. I will always look at the suitability for task, load chart, length of boom, accessibility to site and road access. All of these are important factors when we are choosing the right crane,” said Kolodziej.

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