Versatility - Vertikal.net

TELEHANDLERS
A new tool for crane and access companies?
David Taylor reports on why telehandler
manufacturers have got you in their sights
Versatility
Bobcat recently
bought France's
Sambron and now
offers a full range of
telescopic handlers
I
t would be going too far to say
that the days of the small industrial crane are numbered, but
the rise of the telescopic handler
has certainly marginalised true
cranes in some important applications.
And it’s not just cranes its replacing. The
telehandler concept has taken off with
such astonishing speed over the past 10
years that it is finding its way into all
sorts of unexpected industrial applications.
For decades, the backhoe loader was
the jack-of-all-trades on every British
building site. Essentially an agricultural
tractor with an excavator bucket fitted to
one end and a loading shovel at the
other, this machine still sells in huge
numbers. But in 1995, telescopic handlers outsold backhoes in the UK for the
very first time and the gap has been
widening ever since.
But what makes these machines so
successful? The simple answer is versatility. The benefits of owning one machine
that can do the work of as many as three
30 Cranes & Access April/May 2000
others are obvious. But it didn’t start out
like that; the telehandler has had to
evolve.
Debate still rages over who invented
the telehandler concept, but there are
really only two contenders for the title:
French firm Manitou and Italian firm
Merlo.
What is agreed is that the first telehandlers were developed from the roughterrain forklift truck (RTFL), itself a
modification of the familiar industrial
fork truck used in most warehouses.
The RTFL was developed as a productive materials-handling workhorse
for building sites whose invention was
prompted by the growing practice of
delivering building materials on wooden
pallets instead of in bulk. The RTFL,
which is still a popular machine with
some users, is an efficient way of moving
pallets around site and lifting them to a
height. It’s no good at lifting over obstacles, though. So the first telehandlers
were essentially RTFLs with telescopic
booms instead of vertical masts.
One of the
Today, there are
joint UK
about a dozen different
market
brands of telehandler
leaders is
available in the UK,
Manitou
which has a
some made by specialrange of 25
ists, others produced by
models
familiar names in the
general plant sector.
One of these is JCB which, together
with Manitou, is generally acknowledged
as joint market leader in the UK.
According to JCB spokesman Nigel
Chell, “industry is increasingly recognising the advantages of using telescopic
handlers instead of cranes on construction sites”. JCB, while conceding that
not every telehandler is an automatic
TELEHANDLERS
height and slewing features of a crane
and when working inside a structure”,
says Mr Chell.
Although equipped with a telescopic
boom very similar to those on most small
mobile cranes, the telehandler has no
head-sheaf or superstructure winch.
Instead, its boom typically has a quickhitch fitting at the tip, allowing a wide
range of attachments to be carried.
▲
Slewing superstructure
These can include loading shovels, roadsweeping brushes, man-baskets, earth
augers, waste skips, rope winches and, of
course, lifting forks. Unlike a telescopic
crane, the telehandler can place loads
inside a structure through doorways or
other openings where a crane cannot
reach. According to Mr Chell, JCB
Loadalls are now frequently used in traditional “crane” roles, such as erection
and dismantling of shuttering, delivery of
scaffolding, steelwork erection, concrete
delivery, placing lintels, glazing units,
tanks and similar items, and cladding
work.
It was the development of the interchangeable end of boom attachment that
really started the ball rolling for telehandlers. But the development that now
looks set to put the machine in real headto-head competition with mobile cranes
is the introduction of a slewing superstructure.
This is where the telehandler plays
the crane at its own game. At least three
manufacturers now offer slewing (often
called rotating) telehandlers; some
have 360 degree slew, while others have
unlimited slew just like a crane.
Manitou is one of these manufacturers.
UK general sales manager Ivor Binns
reports that traditional crane hire companies,
including
Marsh
Plant,
Hewden and GWS are now showing an
interest.
“There’s now a cross-over between
the bottom end of the crane market and
the top end of the telehandler market.
That’s why we’re particularly interested
in crane people at present – and they
seem pretty interested in us”, comments
Mr Binns.
Crane hirers and end users who
would have operated machines like the
Jones Iron Fairy and the small Coles
industrial cranes now see some considerable benefit in switching to telehandlers
– especially as many of these old cranes
are now reaching the end of their service
lives and will need replacing.
German
built
Schaffer
telescopic
handlers
are sold in
the UK by
Webster's
Wheeled
Loaders
substitute for a crane, says that
two of its Loadall telehandlers, the
532-120 and the 537-135, are
“perfect for completing jobs sometimes done by cranes.”
These two machines, the
largest in the JCB range, can lift to
heights of 12 m and 13.5 m
respectively. The 532-120 can
carry up to 3.2 tonnes while the
537-135 has a capacity of 3.7
tonnes.
“In general, a telescopic handler should be used when mobility
and compactness are paramount,
when the job does not justify the
cost of the extra payload, lift
April/May 2000 Cranes & Access 31
TELEHANDLERS
WHO’S WHO IN TELEHANDLERS
● CATERPILLAR
Intermat Stand No: 7G 10
Supplied by Staffordshire based dealer Finning, Cat offers five models with lifting
capacities from 3 – 5 tonnes and lift heights from 7.6 m to 13.5 m and all-wheel
drive and steer, including crab steer.
● JCB
Intermat Stand No: ED 80
Best known for its backhoe-loaders, Rocester-based JCB’s well-known Loadall range
offers 11 machines with lift capacities ranging from 2 – 4 tonnes and lift heights to
13.5 m. Most models have 4 x 4 x 4 drive and most have crabbing capability.
Two models, the TM200 and TM270, are articulated.
● KRAMER ALLRAD
Intermat Stand No: 7D 30
Based in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, Kramer offer two small German-built
telehandlers, the 320E with lifting capacity of 1.5 tonnes and lift height of 3.88 m,
and the 418T which lifts 1.8 tonnes to a height of 4.78
● MANITOU
Intermat Stand No: EG 80
Widely credited as the originator of the telehandler concept, French company
Manitou remains a dominant player in the market. With its 25-strong range, the
company offers a model for most applications. The range spans lifting capacities
from 1.5 to 4 tonnes, lift heights up to 21 m and outreach to nearly 20 m.
The range includes five continuous-slewing models.
● MARCHETTI
The Italian crane-maker produces one telehandlers model, a fully-slewing,
multi-purpose machine called the MG 10.28 Trio. Marketed throughout the UK by
Bristol-based Kato Cranes (UK), the Trio will lift 750 kg to a height of 21 m.
● MERLO
Intermat Stand No: EB 80
The other contender for the title of inventor of the telehandler, Merlo offers a
21-model range built in Italy. The range includes machines which will lift 6 tonnes to
a height of nearly 10 m. The tallest reach is that of the ROTO 40.21 EVS, which lifts
4 tonnes to 21 m. The ROTO 40.21 EVS is the largest of five fully-slewing, or
“rotary” models.
● NEW HOLLAND
Intermat Stand No: SG 91
This company, which recently absorbed US plant giant Case Corporation, markets
a nine-model range of telehandlers with lift heights up to 9 m and lift capacities up to
3 tonnes.
● SANDERSON TELEPORTERS
Based at Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, Sanderson makes a range of six telehandlers,
all with 4 x 4 x 4 drive and crab steer and with lifting heights ranging from
5.3 – 7 m. The largest in the range, the TL7 SPT, will lift 3 tonnes to a height of 7 m.
● TEREX LIFTING
Terex recently acquired Gloucestershire manufacturer Matbro and Italian
manufacturer Italmacchine, both of which are currently being absorbed into the Terex
Lifting division which also includes cranes and access equipment. Terex has plans to
build five models at Tetbury: the Matbro 200 and 250, the Italmacchine 236 plus
two new Italian models in the 7m – 9 m and 13 m – 14 m lift height classes.
▲
● SCHAFFER
Supplied in the UK by Webster’s Wheeled Loaders of Leicestershire, there are three
models in this German-built range. All are small, with lift heights ranging from
5.13 – 6.11 m and maximum capacities to 2.3 tonnes.
“Until fairly recently, telehandlers
only lifted as high as 7 m. Now there are
lots which can lift to 12, 13 and 16 m.
Our biggest rotary model [the new MRT
2145] can lift to 21 m”, says Mr Binns.
Mr Binns believes that demand for
these high-reach machines is going to
continue rising strongly. “In terms of
32 Cranes & Access April/May 2000
percentage increase in sales, the 16 m
machine
was
the
fastest-growing
Manitou last year. Sales of the Rotary
machines doubled last year” he says.
However, this is of course at the top
end of the range. The biggest-selling and
fastest-growing telehandler by type in the
UK is the 9 m class with non-slewing
boom. Mr Binns says sales in this category are growing very quickly, especially
amongst house-builders.
“The 9 m machine is ideal for them. It
can reach right into the middle of a typical three-bedroom house. A 9 m tele
with road brush, skip, bucket and jib is
standard kit for house-builders”, says Mr
Binns.
With demand rising so fast, the heat is
now on for manufacturers to deliver
competitive machines. This has led to
some significant rationalisation in the
world-wide market during the past year.
Bobcat, part of the Ingersoll-Rand
organisation and a well-known maker of
mini-excavators and skidsteers, bought
French
telehandler
manufacturer
Sambron in February this year. This
TELEHANDLERS
Joint UK market leader is
JCB which offers the Loadall
range of telescopic handlers
A strong contender
for the title of
"inventor" of the
Telehandler is
Merlo which offers
a 21-model range
move added a European dimension to
Ingersoll-Rand’s existing US-made telescopic handler range in a bid to take
more of what Bobcat president Chuck
Hoge described as “a growing worldwide market.
“The telescopic handler market will
form a strong part of our growth plans
for the future”, added Mr Hoge.
Another major producer to move into
the telehandler arena recently is Terex,
which last year added Italmacchine and
Matbro telehandlers to its fast-growing
Terex Lifting division.
Matbro, based at Tetbury in
Gloucestershire, was acquired following
the collapse of its parent Powerscreen.
But due to a complex agreement reached
with agricultural equipment giant John
Deere shortly before Terex bought the
company, Matbro is legally barred from
making any telescopic handlers before
April 2001. According to managing
director Bob Halls, who was installed at
Tetbury in December 1999 having previously overseen the Terex Access plant in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, production is
soon to start again at the moribund
Matbro plant.
“Since the Powerscreen collapse, the
boys here have kept things alive with the
parts business. Now we’re bringing in
articulated boom lifts from Cork and
telehandlers from [Italmacchine in]
Perugia”, says Mr Halls.
The Tetbury facility is also due to
start producing rigid boom versions of
the old Matbro 200 and 250 telehandlers. But to avoid breaching the agreement with John Deere, these will have
short fixed-length booms until next
April, when fully telescopic machines
will be produced.
“We have a capacity to produce about
1,000 machines a year on five production lines at Tetbury” says Mr Halls. The
plan is to produce the Matbro 200 and
250, plus the Italmacchine 236, brought
over from Italy in kit form. The other
two lines Mr Halls hopes to devote to
two new Italmacchine telehandlers.
Terex’ combined portfolio of access
platforms and telehandlers illustrates the
compatibility between the two types of
machine, a fact that has not escaped rival
access manufacturer Upright. Earlier
this year, Upright launched a range of
brand new telehandlers in the 2.7 – 3.6
tonne capacity at the American Rental
Association show in California. These
machines are expected to make an
appearance on the European market
early next year.
■
TELES TAKE OFF IN SCOTLAND
Steelwork fabricator John Thorburn is typical of the new breed of converts to the telehandler concept. Mr Thorburn has recently bought a new Manitou MRT 1850 to work
alongside his existing Coles 25 tonne truck crane and Grove 30 tonne all-terrain.
“We bought it for a number of reasons”, says Mr Thorburn. “Firstly it’s a rough-terrain machine so it’s good on site. But we also bought it because it’s really three
machines in one: it’s a forklift, an access basket and a crane”.
Thorburn uses the machine mainly in cladding work where the 2 m wide (extendible
to 4 m) platform allows the fixers to lift cladding panels into position and fix them to the
supporting steelwork.
“On an unfinished building there’s often open trenches or rough ground at the base
of a wall. You can’t send a scissor lift in there, but a telehandler can stand back from
the wall”, says Mr Thorburn. The MRT 1850, when equipped with the access platform,
is controllable from the basket and does not require an operator in the cab, as does a
crane-mounted basket. “That machine will do 60 per cent of steel erection work”, says
Mr Thorburn.
April/May 2000 Cranes & Access 33