SC&RA members tour Manitowoc Cranes facility
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| Nearly 200 SC&RA members toured Manitowoc’s manufacturing facility in Manitowoc, Wis., U.S. on September 19. |
High Resolution Photograph
Nearly 200 SC&RA members toured Manitowoc’s manufacturing facility in Manitowoc, Wis., U.S. on September 19. The tour was in conjunction with the association’s annual Crane and Rigging Workshop taking place in Milwaukee. Attendees toured the newly renovated 574,000 sq. ft. factory and also had an opportunity to view the new Model 31000, Manitowoc’s highest capacity crawler crane.
According to Larry Weyer’s, executive vice president of Manitowoc’s Americas region, the event was an opportunity to showcase Manitowoc’s ongoing commitment to product innovation. “Despite the challenges we are all facing in the market, Manitowoc has been and always will be committed to producing cranes that help our customers be more productive and profitable,” he said. “It was great to welcome so many familiar faces up to the facility. For some, it’s been a while since they’ve visited our crawler crane center of excellence, and I know many of our guests were impressed with the updates and improvements we’ve made.” The visitors, who are all members of the Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association, one of the world’s leading trade associations for the lifting industry, got a first glance at the Manitowoc 31000. The crane was assembled – without its boom – in the Manitowoc test yard. It is expected to be ready for testing late this year. Delivery of the first crane is scheduled for late 2010.
The mega-class crawler will have a capacity of 2,535 USt. Main boom lengths will range from 180 ft to 344 ft. Various fixed jib setups will also be available, but the maximum configuration available is 295 ft of boom with 334 ft of jib.
Several other cranes from Manitowoc’s product lines were on display in the test yard. Visitors were able to see Model 18000 and Model 2250 crawler cranes. In addition, a 115 USt capacity Grove GMK5115 all-terrain crane was on display, as well as a Grove RT760E rough terrain crane. A Potain self-erecting crane, the Igo MA 21, was also on-site as well as an industrial crane from Manitowoc’s Shuttlelift brand, the 5540F. The need to build the Model 31000 gave Manitowoc the opportunity to rework its manufacturing facility to not only accommodate the assembly of the four-story crane, but also upgrade equipment and make changes to other areas to enhance workflow.
Visitors had a complete tour of the newly upgraded manufacturing facility. In all, over 130,000 sq. ft. of additional manufacturing space has been added to the facility in the past two years and major changes were made in different manufacturing areas including boom assembly, plate burning and processing, the machine shop, large assembly, and final paint and block. One of the more dramatic areas of manufacturing flow improvement is in the boom assembly area. Larry Weyers explained that as a result of adding space and re-thinking how booms were being assembled, significant savings have been achieved.
“By implementing lean manufacturing practices we were able to reduce manufacturing times in that area from 45 days to 5 days,” he said. “There has also been a positive impact in the drum manufacturing area. By bringing all drum fabrication in house, into one consolidated area, manufacturing times have been reduced from 13 weeks to 3 weeks.” “It’s all part of our drive to continually improve our products and processes so we can better serve our customers.”
About The Manitowoc Company
The Manitowoc Company, Inc. is a multi-industry, capital goods manufacturer with over 100 manufacturing and service facilities in 27 countries. It is recognized as one of the world's largest providers of lifting equipment for the global construction industry, including lattice-boom cranes, tower cranes, mobile telescopic cranes, and boom trucks. Manitowoc also is one of the world's leading innovators and manufacturers of commercial foodservice equipment serving the ice, beverage, refrigeration,food prep, and cooking needs of restaurants, convenience stores, hotels, healthcare, and institutional applications.
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SC&RA members tour Manitowoc Cranes facility
|
| Nearly 200 SC&RA members toured Manitowoc’s manufacturing facility in Manitowoc, Wis., U.S. on September 19. |
High Resolution Photograph
Nearly 200 SC&RA members toured Manitowoc’s manufacturing facility in Manitowoc, Wis., U.S. on September 19. The tour was in conjunction with the association’s annual Crane and Rigging Workshop taking place in Milwaukee. Attendees toured the newly renovated 574,000 sq. ft. factory and also had an opportunity to view the new Model 31000, Manitowoc’s highest capacity crawler crane.
According to Larry Weyer’s, executive vice president of Manitowoc’s Americas region, the event was an opportunity to showcase Manitowoc’s ongoing commitment to product innovation. “Despite the challenges we are all facing in the market, Manitowoc has been and always will be committed to producing cranes that help our customers be more productive and profitable,” he said. “It was great to welcome so many familiar faces up to the facility. For some, it’s been a while since they’ve visited our crawler crane center of excellence, and I know many of our guests were impressed with the updates and improvements we’ve made.” The visitors, who are all members of the Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association, one of the world’s leading trade associations for the lifting industry, got a first glance at the Manitowoc 31000. The crane was assembled – without its boom – in the Manitowoc test yard. It is expected to be ready for testing late this year. Delivery of the first crane is scheduled for late 2010.
The mega-class crawler will have a capacity of 2,535 USt. Main boom lengths will range from 180 ft to 344 ft. Various fixed jib setups will also be available, but the maximum configuration available is 295 ft of boom with 334 ft of jib.
Several other cranes from Manitowoc’s product lines were on display in the test yard. Visitors were able to see Model 18000 and Model 2250 crawler cranes. In addition, a 115 USt capacity Grove GMK5115 all-terrain crane was on display, as well as a Grove RT760E rough terrain crane. A Potain self-erecting crane, the Igo MA 21, was also on-site as well as an industrial crane from Manitowoc’s Shuttlelift brand, the 5540F. The need to build the Model 31000 gave Manitowoc the opportunity to rework its manufacturing facility to not only accommodate the assembly of the four-story crane, but also upgrade equipment and make changes to other areas to enhance workflow.
Visitors had a complete tour of the newly upgraded manufacturing facility. In all, over 130,000 sq. ft. of additional manufacturing space has been added to the facility in the past two years and major changes were made in different manufacturing areas including boom assembly, plate burning and processing, the machine shop, large assembly, and final paint and block. One of the more dramatic areas of manufacturing flow improvement is in the boom assembly area. Larry Weyers explained that as a result of adding space and re-thinking how booms were being assembled, significant savings have been achieved.
“By implementing lean manufacturing practices we were able to reduce manufacturing times in that area from 45 days to 5 days,” he said. “There has also been a positive impact in the drum manufacturing area. By bringing all drum fabrication in house, into one consolidated area, manufacturing times have been reduced from 13 weeks to 3 weeks.” “It’s all part of our drive to continually improve our products and processes so we can better serve our customers.”
About The Manitowoc Company
The Manitowoc Company, Inc. is a multi-industry, capital goods manufacturer with over 100 manufacturing and service facilities in 27 countries. It is recognized as one of the world's largest providers of lifting equipment for the global construction industry, including lattice-boom cranes, tower cranes, mobile telescopic cranes, and boom trucks. Manitowoc also is one of the world's leading innovators and manufacturers of commercial foodservice equipment serving the ice, beverage, refrigeration,food prep, and cooking needs of restaurants, convenience stores, hotels, healthcare, and institutional applications.
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