Sany all terrain crane on show in UK

New for the UK: 60 tonne capacity Sany SAC600E all terrain crane on three axles. Photo: Sany

Chinese manufacturer Sany is launching its all terrain cranes in the United Kingdom. It has begun its first official foray with all terrain cranes into the UK and Irish markets.

A 60 tonne capacity all terrain model is touring the UK and being demonstrated to local potential buyers. Feedback had been positive according to Andrew Snow, Sany crane manager for the United Kingdom and Ireland, when ICST caught up with him in Kent, South East England, in October.

Snow is setting up a sales and service operation for Sany, a privately owned crane and construction equipment manufacturer, in the UK and Ireland. “We are here to develop a market for all terrain and crawler cranes, both lattice and telescopic boom types, in the UK and Ireland.”

The 60 tonne rated SAC600E is the first Sany AT being introduced into the UK. It is a three axle machine with a 50 metre, six section telescopic pinned boom. Adding a 16 metre fly jib gives a maximum reach of 66.5 metres. A short offset auxiliary assembly jib is available with a capacity of 9.1 tonnes. An hydraulically adjustable jib is also available as is 6x6x6 drive-steer (instead of the standard 6x4x6) and a double winch option.

A wider seat and almost a third more legroom in the new Sany iCab operator cab. Photo: Sany

Tailored for the market

At 16 tonnes per axle, the SAC600E can travel with 13 tonnes of counterweight, just inside the permitted 16.5 tonnes per axle in the UK. At 12 tonnes per axle it can carry 4.2 tonnes of counterweight.

Its main components are from familiar names and include a Mercedes-Benz engine, six speed (plus three reverse) Allison automatic transmission with a torque converter, Kessler axles and a Telma retarder. The Stage V engine is a 280 kW OM470LA straight six.

Wireless remote control for crane operation comes as standard and the outrigger extension is infinitely variable, not just set in a limited number of certain positions. Its new iCab operator cabin can be tilted by up to 20 degrees for a better view of the load. It also offers a wider seat with 30 per cent more legroom than its predecessor.

Overall length, including the boom overhang, is a shade under 12 metres at 11.995 metres. It is 2.55 metres wide.

A 120 tonne capacity four axle all terrain and a 250 tonner on five axles are due to follow, into the UK in early 2024, Snow said, followed by two more models in the next couple of years.

UK presence

Sany equipment has been available in the UK since 2016, via a dealer, before the manufacturer established a presence in Scotland a year or two after. Excavators were available initially and the first cranes, both telescopic boom crawlers, arrived in 2022.

For the UK market there are two models with telescopic booms, of 60 and 80 tonnes capacity, plus six lattice boom models. The lattice ones are 60, 100, 135, 260, 400 and 800 tonnes capacity. All the crawler cranes have CE marking and EU Stage V engines.

Fully electric versions are available of the 80 tonne telescopic and the 135 tonne lattice boom model and “the range will develop,” Snow said.

Andrew Snow, Sany country manager, cranes, UK and Ireland. Photo: KHL Group/Alex Dahm

Andrew Snow entered the crane industry in 2002 as a regional sales manager at Atlas hydraulic loader cranes. In 2010 he moved to wheeled mobile and crawler crane manufacturer Demag, also owned by Terex at the time. He joined Sany in April 2023.

Sany SAC600E all terrain crane has a 50 metre boom and a 280 kW Mercedes-Benz diesel engine. Photo: Sany