When EEI Corporation, a leading contractor in the Philippines, started work on a residential development within the huge new Bayshore City resort, the company knew immediately which cranes to use. As with so many new projects across Southeast Asia, EEI opted for Potain tower cranes from Manitowoc. Potain is widely recognised as the leading brand in the region, famed for the outstanding reliability and performance of its tower cranes.

?We employed Potain cranes on this site because we trust their performance and reliability to get the job done,? confirmed Homer Sanchez, Assistant Vice President of the equipment services group at EEI Corporation. ?In previous years, we?ve purchased older, second-hand Potain cranes, and liked them a lot. As our business grew, we built our fleet and also shifted to newer purchases. Since 2010, we?ve been buying new Potain cranes. The main reason we choose Potain cranes is their reliability. We rarely have problems with them and if we do have an issue, then the aftersales service from Manitowoc is always there for us.?

The residential development within Bayshore City is part of the Entertainment City Manila complex. The integrated tourism estate offers family-friendly pastimes, an opera house, international hotels, a theme park and a shopping mall; making it one of the top leisure centres in the whole of Southeast Asia.

?We selected four Potain cranes to help with construction, three top-slewing MC 205 B units plus one MCR 225 A luffing jib crane,? explained Sanchez. ?They arrived in February this year and will be on site for approximately two years. The cranes will construct eight new buildings and a six-story parking garage.?

Potain?s MC 205 B is a well-known and hugely popular 10 t capacity tower crane. It can work with up to 60 m of jib and has been fitted with this full complement for the Bayshore job. Its jib end capacity is 2.4 t. They can achieve line speeds approaching 117 m per minute, and can be used in either two-fall or four-fall reeving with up to 500 m of rope capacity available on the 55 RCS 25 winches that EEI Corporation has selected on its MC 205 B units.

The MCR 225 A has a maximum capacity of 14 t, while its maximum available jib is 55 m and again it is working with this maximum for the Bayshore project. Capacity at the 55 m tip length is 2.15 t. It can be equipped with either a 75 LVF 35 Optima winch or a 100 LVF 35 Optima winch, and the hoist can reach speeds of up to 140 m per minute.

?There was a height limitation for the cranes and for the building itself, as the site is situated quite close to the airport,? said Sanchez. ?As a result, the cranes are working at heights of 30 m to 51 m. They all have their full jibs fitted, although we have ensured that they don?t overlap. The four Potain cranes can cover the whole site, handling building materials and precast concrete sections, which is exactly the kind of work these units do extremely well.?

EEI Corporation bought the Potain cranes from the local Manitowoc office in the Philippines. The company now has 31 Potain cranes in its fleet, including 15 of the MCR 225 A luffing jib units and seven of the MC 205 B model. However the MC 205 B is no longer in production, having been replaced by the new MCT 205, an improved and updated version of its predecessor.

These models are built locally at the Manitowoc factory in Zhangjiagang, China, and designed under the guidance and supervision of Potain?s global engineering headquarters in France. This creates a unique combination of high level engineering tailored to suit the needs of local contractors. The engineering design of Potain utilises the latest technology and industry standards, and leverages the company?s 80 years of experience. It?s a formula that?s proving increasingly successful as the Potain brand cements its place as the leading tower crane of choice for the Asian region.

Looking ahead, Sanchez is optimistic about prospects in the Philippines. ?Most of our work at the moment is centered in Manila, but we have some projects coming up in Cebu. The outlook for the Philippines is quite good. We?re looking forward to more projects coming on stream,? he said.