Potain Igo T 85 A Tower Crane Assembles Iowa Building With Fager Framing

---

A 6.6-ton Potain Igo T 85 A is helping to build a new building complex in Cedar Falls, Iowa. (Photo courtesy of Manitowoc.)

Cedar Falls, Iowa, contractor Fager Framing Inc. has been impressed with the capabilities of a 6.6-ton (6-metric-ton) Potain Igo T 85 tower crane. Fager is operating the Potain on the local construction site of a large building complex.

“As the operations manager, I can say that without the crane we’d be going at least a third of the time slower, if not half the time,” says Fager Project Manager Ben Mather. “With the crane at the site, we can literally cut our production times in half because of the functionalities of it. You can use the one crane vs. four or five different pieces of machinery.”

Remote Controlled Picks

Fager rented the Potain Igo T 85 from RMS Rentals of Savage, Minnesota. The rental company set up the self-erecting tower crane in just a day. The crane’s 147.6-foot (45-meter) jib radius allows it to reach every point on the site as it lifts and places prefabricated materials including floor joists, sections of wall, and roof trusses.

“A lot of times you have to lift something up and then wait a couple of hours and then lift something else up,” says Fager framing crew leader Justin Scheff. “Something like that would be really hard with a truck crane.”

Because the Potain Igo T 85 A can be operated by remote control, the crane operator can stand near the drop zone and place materials where the builders need them.

---

The Igo T 85 A’s 147.6-foot jib radius lets it reach the entire building site without having to move. (Photo courtesy of Manitowoc.)

“It’s nice because you can be up where you’re hoisting the material to,” Scheff says. “A lot of times with truck cranes or cabs, sometimes you lose visual sight of where you’re going, where with the remote you can walk around and see exactly where your load’s at.”

Fager Framing also reports that the Igo T 85 A’s reliability and readiness for the next task has allowed planners to map out the building process more easily.

The Potain Igo T 85 A

The Igo T 85 A tower crane’s lattice mast is 66 to 75 ft (20 to 23 m) tall, but with three optional inserts, its horizontal jib hook height can be up to 125 ft (38 m) off the ground. At its full 147.6-ft (45-m) radius, the crane can lift a load of 1.5 t (1.4 mt). The fully electric, 480-volt Potain has a footprint of only 14.8 square feet (1.37 square meters).

Source: Manitowoc