PK 165.002 TEC 7

Palfinger Southern Africa – Playing in the big league.

You could feel the excitement in the air, as the Palfinger Southern Africa team got ready to welcome their first PK 165.002 TEC 7 truck mounted crane, the first of its size in South Africa.

Rigging specialists, Machine Moving & Engineering Group, better known as MME, bought this magnificent PK 165.002 TEC 7 truck mounted crane. MME has more than 46 years of experience in the relocating and installation of different forms of machinery and equipment. When it was time to extend their fleet of twenty-two cranes, George McAvoy, owner of MME, realized there is a gap in the South African market for a long boom, heavy lift crane and that the PK 165.002 TEC 7 would be the perfect fit. ‘’ The fact that the crane was available in South Africa and ready to be installed was one of my biggest deciding factors.’’

Michael McIvor sales executive of Palfinger Southern Africa said that this experience taught him that perseverance is key. ‘’I visited MME for more than 8 years and built my relationship with George. I believe that was the foundation for the sale of the PK165.002 TEC7 crane.’’

“This was a learning curve for Palfinger South Africa and MME. It all came down to our relationship.” George explained. After a discussion with both the sales and technical team, the Nissan Quester CGE 440 truck was selected for the project, because of its excellent double skin chassis design and four axles with a leaf spring suspension. The truck’s chassis was extended to 8.552 meters to include a 4-meter load body. The crane was programmed with the latest HPSC and P-fold technology. The unit weighed in at 31.340 tons.

“Working on a project like this is very challenging and exciting at the same time. Every day had new challenges and new struggles, but with the amazing support system at Palfinger Southern Africa nothing is impossible” explained Jacques du Toit, the mechanical engineer at Palfinger Southern Africa.

Shaun Maytom, operator of the PK165.002 TEC 7, said that he found the PK165.002 TEC 7 to be a very compact unit that can be used in areas mobile cranes cannot be used. According to Shaun the remote control that informs him of the crane’s stability and capacity, whilst working in confined spaces, where outrigger positioning can be compromised is really helpful. In a recent project, he had to lift and install a 15 meter reactor column, weighing 15 tons inside a building with very limited space. The PK 165.002 TEC 7 did this with ease and the job was completed to the client’s satisfaction.