One of the world’s biggest crane rental companies is using one of the world’s biggest cranes. South Korea’s Chunjo Construction Co. has taken delivery of the largest capacity crawler crane ever designed and built by Manitowoc — Manitowoc 31000.
Chunjo has added the 2,300-tonne crawler to its rental fleet and will supply it to contractors around the globe, including those working on nuclear power plants. The crane’s first job is at a Posco E&C plant in Gwangyang, South Korea, where cutting-edge technology is making liquid gas from low-grade coal. There, the crane is making 12 lifts for three of the plant’s vessels and setup with 55 metres of boom and a 60-metre luffing jib.
Chunjo’s special interest is on the crane’s variable position counterweight (VPC) system, which ranges from 8-metre fully retracted to 29-metre fully extended. The VPC minimises crane’s footprint and ground preparation.
Chang Hwan Jang, Chairman, Chunjo, explains why the company is so attracted to the 31000’s VPC system.
“The Manitowoc 31000 has a tremendous capacity and we will be able to use it for heavy lifts on a diverse number of projects,” he says. “But the real advantage is the crane’s VPC, which will keep the footprint of the crane manageable, giving us more space to work on the job site.”
Chunjo also purchased three 600-tonne Manitowoc 18000 crawler cranes. When working with the MAX-ER attachment, the 18000’s capacity is boosted to 750 tonnes. It boasts a 97.5-metre boom.
In fact, Chunjo owns more Manitowoc 18000s than any other company in the world. And that’s not the only superlative, Chunjo owns more Grove rough-terrain cranes than any other in the Far East.
With such a large fleet, it’s no surprise that International Cranes and Specialized Transport ranked Chunjo as one of the world’s 50 largest crane-owning companies on its IC50 list.
Ho Joon Bang, Vice Chairman, Chunjo, described the special relationship between his company and Manitowoc.
“The partnership between us dates back many years and I can attest that Manitowoc makes the best cranes in the world, whether it’s Grove, Manitowoc or Potain,” he said. “This new Manitowoc 31000 is making its first lifts at the very same site as our first Manitowoc 18000, so it’s a very important and symbolic milestone for Chunjo.”