HITTING A NEW BENCHMARK IN HYDRAULIC LIFTING
Palfinger is the global market leader in the manufacturing of innovative, reliable and efficient hydraulic lifting systems for the commercial-vehicle market and the maritime field. Headquartered in Austria, the company produces loader cranes, timber and recycling cranes, marine cranes, wind cranes, hooklifts and railway systems, and is a leading specialist in tail lifts and truck-mounted forklifts.
Palfinger promises “Lifetime Excellence” to customers and, therefore, is committed to providing uncompromising equipment performance and the best service in the industry for the lifetime of every product. Palfinger has 38 manufacturing and assembly sites throughout Europe, CIS, North America, South America and Asia, as well as more than 5,000 sales and service centers located in over 130 countries across five continents. With all of these facilities and a workforce of more than 10,000 employees, the company generated total sales of approximately EUR 1,471.1 million in 2017.
In order to deliver the most reliable and innovative lifting solutions, Palfinger relies on the power of Cat® industrial engines. The company knows these engines provide highly effective operation in harsh environments with minimal downtime — a crucial requirement for customers’ applications. In fact, the company has established a close alliance with Caterpillar in order to specify the best industrial power solution for every type of equipment.
For example, Palfinger has worked intently with Caterpillar to create new benchmarks in the loader crane business. The new Palfinger Crawler Cranes PCC — the first Palfinger knuckle boom loader cranes mounted on a crawler chassis — operate with Cat C4.4 and C3.4 pre-mounted industrial power units (IPUs). The Cat C4.4 is available in multiple power ratings (70-129.4 bkW/93.9-173.5 bhp), and the C3.4 produces 47 bkW/63 bhp. Both IPUs meet EU Stage IV and U.S. EPA Tier 4 Final emission standards. Caterpillar’s world-class manufacturing capabilities and processes, coupled with proven core engine designs, ensure optimal engine operation.
Palfinger’s decision to specify Cat industrial engines for its cranes also stemmed from other factors, including the ability to work closely with engineers at Cat dealer Zeppelin in Vienna to master engine-design challenges. The process started with an evaluation of semi-finished industrial power units. This was done to reduce the time needed for engine development and implementation into the architecture of the Palfinger Crawler Crane. Subsequently, the company worked with Zeppelin to integrate the technical fittings of the Cat industrial engine design with 3D data to finalize the crane’s concept. Zeppelin also provided support during assembly to help Palfinger complete the engineering process. These final steps resulted in the official approval of the designed engine according to legal regulation requirements.
“During the development process of the new Palfinger Crawler Crane, we were looking for a strong partner to realize our high requirements in quality and durability. With Caterpillar / Zeppelin, we found the perfect technical support for such a new product. Also the worldwide dealer and support networks are reasons for choosing this partnership,” says Mr. Martin Kerschbaumer the responsible Design and Development Engineer.
Finally, Palfinger chose Cat industrial engines for one other reason as well: the availability of spare parts for worldwide customer support. Low levels of downtime are crucial for the company’s customers. Therefore, close cooperation between Palfinger and Caterpillar is vital to ensure reliable support and service.
“WITH CATERPILLAR AND ZEPPELIN, WE FOUND A STRONG PARTNER TO REALIZE OUR HIGH REQUIREMENTS IN QUALITY AND DURABILITY.”
