Tower crane specialist NFT is using five Potain cranes to construct public housing in Hong Kong. The fleet includes two MCT 565 and three MCT 385 tower cranes, all from the advanced range of Potain topless cranes built in Zhangjiagang, China.
“We selected the MCT 565 and MCT 385 cranes for the project because the cranes offer impressive lifting performance on site, combined with easier transport and assembly on site,” said Nawar Al Zahlawi, business development manager at NFT Group.
The residential development in the Ma On Shan area in northeast Hong Kong will feature five towers ranging from 37 to 40 floors. The project is managed by the Hong Kong Housing Department with Sun Fook Kong as the main contractor. The five topless cranes arrived on site between March and May of 2020. The MCT 565 cranes are the latest additions to NFT’s fleet in Hong Kong and for this project they are configured with 45 meters of their 80-meter jib. This gives them a tip capacity of 13 tons and the ability to lift 25 tons at 25.5 meters.
The MCT 385 cranes are working with 35-meter jibs out of their total of 75 meters. In this configuration they can lift 10 tons at a 35-meter radius. The Potain MCT 385 features a maximum capacity of 20 tons and a maximum free-standing height of 64.9 meters.
All the cranes are expected to remain on site until 2022, lifting steel bars, precast concrete and decoration materials for the building’s façade.
The MCT 565 offers jib length configurations from 30 meters to 80 meters in 5-meter increments. At its 80-meter jib end, it can handle four tons. Despite its increased size, the model stays true to the design characteristics of Potain topless cranes, with easy transport and erection combining with onsite performance.
The upper section of the Potain MCT 565, with its full 80-meter jib, travels on just nine trucks thanks to innovative, space-saving design features such as a folding cab on the slewing unit and a folding counter jib. At the jobsite, set up can be finished inside two days. Users have the option to split the slewing unit, counter jib and jib into different sizes depending on available space as well as capacity of the assist crane.
“We are seeing topless cranes grow in popularity for jobsites using heavier construction materials. Many contractors prefer cranes like the MCT 565, which is the largest topless crane from Potain’s Asia Range,” said Darren Tan, regional sales manager, tower cranes, Manitowoc, APAC.
