Tower crane specialist NFT has supplied a fleet of five Potain tower cranes comprising two MCT 565 and three MCT 385 units in the construction of a public housing project in Hong Kong.
Nawar Al Zahlawi, business development manager at the Abu Dhabi-headquartered NFT Group, said: “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.” Both models are from the advanced range of Potain topless cranes built in Zhangjiagang, China.
Over the years, NFT has expanded its services to supply Potain cranes to several projects around the globe and is now the largest Potain dealer in the world. The MCT 565 cranes are the latest additions to NFT’s fleet in Hong Kong and for this project they are configured with 45m of their 80m jib. This gives them a tip capacity of 13t and the ability to lift 25t at 25.5m. The MCT 385 cranes are working with 35m jibs out of their total of 75m. In this configuration they can lift 10t at a 35m radius. The Potain MCT 385 features a maximum capacity of 20t and a maximum free-standing height of 64.9m.
Potain added in a statement that the MCT 565 offers a load moment of 550tm and jib length configurations from 30-80m in 5m increments. At its 80m jib end, it can handle 4t of weight. “Despite its increased size, the model stays true to the design characteristics of Potain topless cranes, with easy transport and erection combining with excellent on-site performance,” said Potain.
The manufacturer added that the MCT 565 is easy to transport as its upper section, with its full 80m 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,” the statement added.
Darren Tan, regional sales manager, tower cranes, Manitowoc, APAC, explained: “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.”
The residential development in the Ma On Shan area in northeast Hong Kong will feature five towers from 37-40 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 this year. All the cranes are expected to remain on site until 2022, lifting steel bars, precast concrete and decoration materials for the building’s façade.
