News Release

April 24, 2006

Potain Shows Popular MD 238A and MDT 98 Top-Slewing Tower Cranes at Intermat 2006

A Potain MD 238 A tower crane will be on display at Intermat.

Potain showed two tower cranes from its top-slewing range at Intermat 2006, the MD 238A from the Topkit MD range, and the MDT 98 from the MDT City range. Both cranes are popular throughout Europe and have a host of features and benefits common to cranes in Potain’s industry leading range.

The MD 238A is available in two versions, the J10 version with a 10 t (11 USt) maximum capacity, and the J12 version with a 12 t (13 USt) maximum capacity. The crane has a choice of nine jib lengths up to a maximum of 67.5 m (221 ft) and two mast options, either 1.6 m x 1.6 m (5 ft x 5 ft) or 2 m x 2 m (6.6 ft x 6.6 ft). The J12 version can handle up to 2.15 t (2.4 USt) at its maximum jib point, while the J10 version can handle up to 2.2 t (2.4 USt) at the same radius.

Both cranes use Potain’s K mast technology and mount on all available cross-shaped bases for the MD range. A choice of three mast lengths is offered – 3.3 m (10.8 ft), for adjusting the hook height in small increments; 5 m (16.4 ft), which is the standard length used with the telescopic mast system; and 10 m (32.8 ft), which is a longer section.

A choice of mechanisms is offered with LVF Optima (variable frequency) hoists from 22 kW (30 hp) up to 55 kW (75 hp) for the J10 version and from 37 kW (50 hp) to 75 kW (100 hp) for the J12 version. The wide range of hoisting options make the crane ideally suited to any number of job sites as does its ease of erection. The cathead, which is a new feature, ships as a single block to facilitate assembly while the tie bars are easily attached utilizing ‘pear-shaped’ holes and handled pins.

Also on show at Intermat is the MDT 98. Potain introduced the crane just over a year ago and it has a maximum capacity of 6 t (6.6 USt). Maximum jib length is 55 m (180 ft) while the maximum tip load for the crane is 1.2 t (1.3 USt). The MDT 98 has two mast options allowing it to be mounted on either 1.2 m x 1.2 m (3.9 ft x 3.9 ft) or 1.6 m x 1.6 m (5 ft x 5 ft) sections. As with other cranes in the MDT City range, the MDT 98 offers three operating options – remote control, radio remote control, or Vision cab.

The crane’s fast erection time is the result of an innovative design which allows more assembly on the ground and less at working height. Other innovations include a one pin assembly to join the main jib to the counterjib and modular components, which reduce set-up time. Erection typically takes less than a day and in some instances is less than seven hours.