Manitowoc’s Crane Care program keeps customers’ cranes running even on the most remote jobsites. In this Looking Up series, we speak to the technicians that travel the world, troubleshooting issues for customers so the lifting work can continue no matter what.
What is your name and role?
My name’s Mario Candole and I’m a technical service specialist for Potain tower cranes.
Where are you based? What regions do you usually cover?
I’m based in Singapore. From here I mainly cover the Asia-Pacific region, traveling to countries such as Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia.
How long have you been at the company and what other jobs have you had?
From 1998 to 2006 I worked for Potain in the Philippines. In 2006 I transferred to Singapore and I’ve been here ever since. Before I started with the company I worked as an industrial electrician for a number of different companies.
Tell us about one of the most memorable or challenging Crane Care jobs you were involved with?
One of the most challenging jobs was in 2003, in Sesan, a remote mountainous area in Vietnam. I was supporting the erection of two special-application Potain MD 2200 tower cranes that were to be used for lifting formwork and steel rebar, plus pouring concrete on a major dam-building project. The cranes were really big; with a lift capacity of 22 t at the end of their 80 m jibs, and the client wanted them to be working 24-hours a day. So that really took some work!
Apart from the size of the cranes, the other challenge on the jobsite was language, as it was such a remote location where there weren’t many English speakers. So, we had to work really carefully together and pay even more attention to detail to ensure the communication between the team ran smoothly. This is such an important part of making sure assembly work runs smoothly and safely.
How does Manitowoc’s commitment to innovative design make your job easier?
I think we are now massively benefiting from the latest designs created by our talented engineers. In particular, there’s a real focus on finding less complicated ways to troubleshoot electrical and electronic issues, which is so important for maximizing productivity on the jobsite.
At the moment, there is a lot of interest from customers in our MCT 565, the highest-capacity Potain topless crane in Asia. From a user perspective, it’s easy to see why: loading it into its compact transport configuration at the yard is much easier thanks to dedicated sling points and transport brackets on the jib and counter-jib. Once on the jobsite, the entire 80 m jib can be lifted in one go if needed, and no single component weighs more than 12.8 t making it easier to choose an assist crane. The foldable counter-jib also saves erection time, and we spend less time installing the cab because of the plug-and-play design.
With everything in place on a good jobsite we can get the basic version of the MCT 565 assembled in less than two days, which is impressive for a crane so big.
What’s the best part of being a technician?
I enjoy being a crane technician because it ties in so nicely with my core academic background. It also offers me plenty of opportunities to meet and work with different people around the world who have similar interests. Together, we can pool our ideas and experiences, and broaden each other’s knowledge. Internally our motto is ‘customers buy Potain because of the support’, so ensuring we remain the number one choice and a preferred brand for users around the globe carries a huge amount of responsibility for us, but equally it’s very rewarding and makes us proud of what we do.
When you are not fixing customers’ cranes, what else do you like to do?
Honestly, my job is my hobby! I really enjoy assisting our customers with technical enquiries. Aside from that, I just try to make sure I have regular time with my family, whenever we’re all available.