Cambodia’s first Potain MCT 85 works on government building

The first Potain MCT 85 topless tower crane to arrive in Cambodia has been put to work in the country’s capital Phnom Penh on the construction of a new government building. The new building for the Ministry of the Environment is being constructed by main contractor Daun Penh Construction Group., Ltd., who purchased the Potain crane through local Manitowoc partner APE Trading and Construction Co., Ltd.

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Chuon Vichet Seila, director at Daun Penh Construction Group, said the company opted for the topless tower crane because of the assured reliability that the Potain brand offers.

“Because this is a government job we wanted a new crane that we could rely on to manage the material-handling work so Potain was a perfect choice,” he said. “This is the first Potain crane we have purchased and it has performed very well. And, if we have any issues related to the crane, we know we’ll get great support from APE Trading and Construction. It’s been a good experience using Potain and we’ll definitely consider the brand for any future projects.”

Loads for the MCT 85 on the development are all less than 1 t, making it a perfect choice for the job. The crane can lift a maximum of 5 t or 1.1 t at its jib end of 52 m. On the Ministry of the Environment project, the crane is mounted externally and was initially configured at a height of 34.5 m.

In addition to its external set-up on the Cambodia job, the MCT 85 is also designed for internal climbing, where cranes are sited inside the building they are constructing ― usually within the elevator shaft. Such configurations are extremely popular in Asia and in the case of the MCT 85 it can be mounted on 1.2 m mast sections, allowing it to fit inside even narrowest of elevator shafts. In this set-up, it can be initially configured at a maximum free-standing height of 33.2 m.

The MCT 85 is a practical unit designed for easier transportation, with its entire top portion able to travel on just two trucks. Assembly is easier too as most of the pre-assembly work happens at the factory before the crane is delivered to the customer. For example, the counterjib and towerhead are pre-assembled as a single component and can be erected in one piece. Connecting the jib is simplified through the use of rapid pin-connectors. This means the entire tower crane’s upperworks is connected in just two sections.

Topless tower cranes are continuing to grow in popularity. They offer a number of benefits to users in addition to fast assembly. For example, on congested job sites topless tower cranes are a particularly strong option as they can be assembled in narrower spaces than more traditional tower cranes. And because assembly is faster, they are well-suited to situations where mobile crane use may be limited in helping assemble the tower crane. In addition, because topless tower cranes have no cathead at their top it is easier to adjust their jib length, simply by adding or removing sections. And the lack of the cathead at the top also means that more cranes can overlap in less vertical space, saving time and money in the erection of the cranes and boosting productivity on the job site.

The Potain MCT 85 was introduced last year and is built at Manitowoc’s factories in Zhangjiagang, China and Pune, India.