Considering tyre-mounted cranes of above 300T capacity and crawler cranes of above 600T capacity as high tonnage cranes, there are still very few players in this segment, writes Ajay Kumar Somani.
Few industries are looking for tyre-mounted cranes for metro projects, wind mill, refineries and crane hiring companies for taxi job (short duration requirements). Requirement of such cranes in metro projects is quite good and the capacities needed are 400-500T range. In wind mills, very few companies are using tyre-mounted crane as their main crane like wind world. As the nacelle height is increasing due to shortage of good wind zone, the requirement in this field is not much.

Refineries need cranes of 350-400T capacity and they will buy such cranes time to time. The new segment, which is coming up in the last 1-2 years with such requirement is crane hiring companies. They get some short period jobs, which are more rewarding and the range is 300-500T capacity cranes Crawler cranes: The main industries needing such cranes are wind mill, power plants, rental companies, and refineries. In wind mill, a boom is expected for two reasons. First, the first-year deprivation, which was reduced last year is stored back to old rules, which will increase investment. Second, due to non-availability of good wind zone, the new wind mills are to come in low wind zones and need to have higher tower heights. Hence, either existing cranes are to be upgraded or new cranes need to be purchased. In power plants, both thermal and nuclear segments are giving good signs and a lot of projects on hold are getting cleared.

In crane rental market, due to some refineries getting expanded, a lot of cranes are available with rental companies are now on long term hire. With the market improving, the rental rates will go up, which will encourage rental companies to buy new cranes. Refineries are not buying cranes directly but taking from rental companies, indirectly giving boost to crane sale. In this scenario, the future is bright. It may still take a while, may be by year-end or third quarter that the requirement starts materialising.

Refineries need cranes of 350-400T capacity and they will buy such cranes time to time.

The author is Director , Mobile Crane Division, Liebherr India.