AUSTRALIAN CRANE & MACHINERY
a push in production and product development . “ I am currently expanding our engineering team ,” Kobilke says . “ On the design side we have four mechanical engineers , and we have three software engineers working on our control systems .” Not many manufacturers can offer remote monitoring services and the ability to do this is a differentiator for ACM . Maintenance optimisation software is in development that will constantly monitor the machinery right down to the component level .
That will be launched in 2018 to coincide with the international launch of the new ACM 6000 60-tonne hydraulic crane mounted on an Isuzu FYX2500 10x4 automatic truck . “ In the crane sector the all-terrain style tends to dominate due to its versatility but truck mounted cranes have an advantage in long distance markets because they can travel at 110kph on the freeway ,” explains Kobilke . With an overall weight of 37.5 tons spread over five axles , this crane is the only one of its size that can travel without permits on the roads of Australia and New Zealand . And it is exactly this advantage that will make it attractive in other long-distance markets like the USA and Canada , he believes .
As well as upgrading its in-house computer programmes , ACM is taking steps to optimise its entire supply chain . At the same time Kobilke is planning to source large machinery to handle the high tensile steel imported from Northern Europe to make the
96 January 2018