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"Orlaco has built up an astonishing level of knowledge of our cranes" The Spierings folding cranes are fascinating machines. A versatile kit unfolds to form a proper—yet mobile—tower crane once on the building site. The machine operator sits dozens of metres high, moving his loads. And seeing as optimum vision is essential, Orlaco has developed a load-viewing camera specifically for the SK 498-AT4.

Many machine operators around the world use the vision system from Orlaco every day. Research shows that machine operators carry out "blind" lifting operations at least 22 percent faster if they use a camera. The innovative Orlaco camera has an enormous vision angle that shows the whole of the working area from above, as the load-viewing camera is installed on the trolley. The crane manufacturer Spierings had already been doing this for years until a new folding crane was introduced: the SK 498-AT4.

A radius of 44 metres Construction materials, prefab construction elements, heavy constructions and complete machines: the SK 498-AT4 moves them effortlessly across building sites and other areas. A radius of 44 metres gives the crane a wide range, but it is not even the largest crane. The SK 1265-AT6 covers a working area of 60 metres around the crane.

"We build the folding cranes here in Oss", says Jolanda Bevers from Spierings. "We have a team of 245 people working for us, and everything is done in-house, from research and development to production and assembly. We continually work with our suppliers to find innovative solutions".

Compact folding cranes
Leo Spierings began servicing and maintaining tower cranes in 1987, and he was also busy developing his first folding crane. Starting with the dimensions, he logically adapted hydraulics to suit the movements of the crane, resulting in the compact design of the Spierings folding cranes. Their clever automation means that they can be assembled in just 15 minutes.

View of the load and the lifting site "The cranes go to customers in Europe, but also to Scotland, Iceland and even Canada", says Bevers. "They opt for the functionality and reliability of a Spierings folding crane. The Spierings name itself is synonymous with folding cranes for many people, and that means that we have to uphold a name".

Suppliers play an important role in this, which is why the larger folding cranes are fitted with load-view cameras from Orlaco as standard. The camera is an optional accessory with the smaller models. The camera and a battery pack are installed on the trolley so that the machine operator in his cab always has a view from above of the load and the lifting site, even if they are hidden from view by a building, for example. "The only crane we couldn't fit with a camera was the SK 498-AT4. This crane has a radius of at least 44 metres, installed on an undercarriage with just four axles. The trend is for more and more length in the jib with fewer and fewer axles. This led to the development of a new trolley for the SK 498-AT4".

Developed by Orlaco From this point onwards, Spierings was no longer able to offer a load-view camera as standard with this type of crane, as the new trolley meant there was not enough room for the camera parts. Orlaco quickly came to the rescue with a completely new camera. The transmitter, the battery pack with connectors, the brackets and the cables are amongst the items that were modified.

"Orlaco has built up an astonishing level of knowledge of our cranes over the years, and they use this creatively. This meant that their development team was able to come up with an effective solution. What is significant for our collaboration", Bevers comments, "is that we were also responsible for part of the development ourselves. For example, we developed a hoisting contact that means that the battery pack does not have to be in the starting position to be charged up". Optimum vision is a prerequisite for safe and effective lifting. The custom-made solution from Orlaco means that Spierings can offer buyers of the SK 498-AT4 an effective camera system.

About Orlaco
If it were up to Orlaco, there would be no "blind" corners around vehicles and machines. The Dutch producer of vision solutions, based in Barneveld, sells high-quality camera/monitor systems, and a combination of continuous innovation and a high level of reliability have made Orlaco the market leader. Both OEMs and dealers work together with Orlaco, and the solution that was developed in conjunction with Spierings is the perfect illustration of this close collaboration.