At SAIE 2009 last fall, PM, the knuckleboom crane division of PM Group S.p.A., announced a three-year plan of investment to bring a complete new range of knuckleboom cranes to the market. At SAIE, PM showed its Classic and Classic Plus range of small and medium cranes available with the new Easy, Basic and Advance radio system, designed to give more flexibility to the operator. “The International market situation is difficult, and companies can [compete] with product innovation, cost reduction, and production efficiency,” said Luigi Fucili, PM Group Spa. “This is the reason PM started a three-year process of renovation of the entire range of cranes, offering innovative solutions, [and] user-friendly and safe machines to the customer.” The new cranes lift on average from 7 to 18 percent more compared to previous models, according to the company. A larger range of accessories, previously available only on higher-capacity cranes, are now available on models in the small and medium ranges.
They are equipped with a Power Tronic electronic load-limiting device for increased safety during operations and in overload situations. The cranes also feature a Stabilizers Rotation System, for manual or hydraulic configurations, designed to reduce the occupied space of a crane during the installation and assure increased stability.
The new Easy, Basic, Advance radio system are available with traditional joystick or with the compact remote handle. The systems are easy to use and feature an LCD display. PM claims the largest range of radio remote control operation, a higher quality of radio transmitting with higher stability, more sensibility and reduced unclear signal for better efficiency on operation. The company’s Easy system is the combination of a Palm radio system and a Bosch-developed proportional valve bank. The operator can control crane operations with one hand. Equipped with the latest frequency-jumping technology designed to avoid interference with other radio systems, it has a proportional switch board with three different speed settings. The system is equipped with standard AA rechargeable batteries. In case of emergency, standard non-rechargeable batteries can be used.
In North America, PM cranes are available through PM North America, Rolling Meadows, Ill.
Lift & Access is part of the Catalyst Communications Network publication family.
