Manitowoc Wide Boom Plus Insert Kit For MLC300 VPC-Max Cranes Handles Taller, Heavier Wind Towers

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Manitowoc’s Wide Boom Plus insert kit gives its MLC300 VPC-Max crane the ability to work on today’s taller wind turbines without increasing crane footprint or setup time. (Photo courtesy of Manitowoc.)

Lomma Crane & Rigging of South Kearny, New Jersey, is the first company to purchase Manitowoc’s Wide Boom Plus insert kit for its 330-ton (300-metric-ton) MLC300 VPC-Max lattice boom crawler crane. The updated attachment provides a maximum boom length of 429.8 feet (131 meters) and 30% greater capacity, which gives wind tower installation and maintenance contractors the advantages of a smaller crane with the ability to work on taller, heavier turbines that can reach the stronger winds of higher elevations.

“It radically expands the use of the MLC300 for renewable energy jobs,” says Lomma Heavy Lift Manager Steve Burkholder. “That extra boom gives a 452-ft (138-m) tip height and is good for 124,400 pounds (56,427 kilograms)—that’s unheard of for a machine of this size! And although wind farm installations can be tricky due to the weather conditions, there is still 100% availability of the load chart in wind speeds up to 15 mph (24 km/h). I can only call it a super crane!”

Get Into The Wind

Manitowoc developed the Wide Boom Plus insert kit using feedback from its Voice of the Customer program as a response to taller, more efficient 292-, 295-, and 312-ft (89-, 90-, and 95-m) wind towers.

“As wind turbines increase in size and weight, the need to be able to perform construction and maintenance above 90 meters without increasing crane footprint or setup time was a high priority for our customers—and that made it a high priority for us, too,” says Brennan Seeliger, Manitowoc’s product manager for crawler cranes. The upgraded attachment debuted in August 2022.

Lomma partnered with JMS Crane & Rigging to install the Wide Boom Plus on an MLC300 VPC-Max for its maintenance work on wind tower sites across the upper Midwest. “It also enables a much friendlier crane build, with a smaller footprint, and saves us around 16 to 20 hours in assembly and disassembly time per job,” says JMS Vice President Rich Johnson. “Given that we might do that 300 times a year, it's a major benefit to us.”

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The Wide Boom Plus kit “radically expands the use of the MLC300 for renewable energy jobs,” says Lomma Heavy Lift Manager Steve Burkholder. (Photo courtesy of Manitowoc.)

The MLC300 VPC-Max

The 386-t (350-mt) Manitowoc MLC300 crane with a 15,515 ft-kips (15,515,000-pounds-force feet) maximum load moment becomes a 330-t (300-mt), 29,793 ft-kips crane with the VPC-Max (Variable Position Counterweight) attachment. VPC-Max also increases the MLC300’s 334.6-ft (102-m) boom length to 393.7 ft (120 m).

Manitowoc’s VPC and VPC-Max systems automatically shift counterweight position to increase lift capability without using carbody ballast. Besides providing large-crane capacity with small-crane logistics and site benefits, VPC-Max gives the MLC300 significantly reduced transport requirements and an improved center of gravity for lower ground bearing pressures. The MLC300 can save time and expense with quick setup features such as a self-erecting mast cylinder and the ability to raise full-boom and luffing-jib combinations without assistance or outriggers.

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Source: Manitowoc