First job for new top of the range tower cranes

Three of the the four tower cranes placed on alternate sides of the elevated highway. Photo: Potain

An Italian construction contractor is making the most of its new tower crane model’s heavy duty capabilities on a viaduct renovation project in the north of the country.

Manufacturer Potain’s largest tower crane model for the European market is now installed in its first application. Following its initial listing in the company’s product range back in 2023, the first units of the Potain MDLT 1109 are now out working on site.

This latest saddle jib model replaces the venerable MD 1100. It is a hammerhead type with a cat head but of a lower top design.

Four units have been deployed by Italian construction contractor Itinera, part of the ASTM Group, on a project to renovate the Gravagna viaduct near Genoa in the north of the country. Such large infrastructure projects, an Itinera speciality, are also home territory for this type of crane, the company said. The crane is also aimed at handling larger precast concrete components and prefabricated modules that are now becoming commonplace.

On their first job the cranes are helping to dismantle and rebuild the 1,067 metre viaduct on the A15 Cisa highway. It is an important main road connecting the cities of Parma and La Spezia. There are 177 viaducts, 38 flyovers and 36 tunnels on the A15. In the same way as it was built in the early 1970s, Itinera is taking it one segment at a time, thereby retaining structural integrity.

Work started in the third quarter of 2023 managed by SALT, the ASTM company responsible for the highway. The four cranes were already in place beside the elevated sections when there was explosive demolition work overnight on 19 and 20 June. As part of project phase one, steel supporting arches added in the 1990s under some of the original concrete spans, were removed using 400 kg of explosives.

Phase two will be reconstruction of the northern roadway and where the cranes will come into their own.

Mast section assembly completed for one of the four Potain MDLT 1109 tower cranes. Photo: Potain

Big can be easy too

Commenting on the assembly of the cranes, Manitowoc technician Cyrille Giamello, said, “We have assembled many Potain tower cranes over the years and were expecting a complicated job with these four MDLT 1109 units because of the impressive dimensions of the components. The work was certainly demanding but the final assembly turned out to be much simpler than anticipated, which enabled us to respect the deadline for the work.”

As the largest top slewing crane produced by Potain in Europe the 40 tonne capacity MDLT 1109 is designed to combine high performance lifting with compact transport and simplified assembly, the manufacturer said. It lifts 11.1 tonnes at the end of an 80 metre jib.

Primary differences from its predecessor are that it has the CCS Crane Control System and uses the K-type mast which unlike welded monobloc tower sections can be unbolted into four flat panels for easier transport. It can also be used with Potain’s own operator elevator, the Cab-IN, while still retaining a ladder.

The four new cranes also have the new Potain Connect telematics system, helping to guarantee uptime and crane availability. During crane operation it helps to more quickly identify and resolve issues, ‘nipping them in the bud’, so to say. Remote access to crane data also helps with general fleet management.

Established in 1938, Itinera posted a revenue of €1.76 billion in 2023 and operates in more than ten countries around the world. It has constructed more than 1,000 km of roads and railways and built more than 100 km of tunnels. Parent company ASTM is one of the largest operators of motorways in the world, managing more than 6,000 km.

First sight of the new Potain MDLT 1109, one of four units on the debut project for this range-topping model. Photo: Potain