The challenges of building high-rise structures in China’s typhoon-prone Great Bay Area make having a reliable tower crane partner a necessity for rental companies and contractors. Potain never lets them down.
In California, the powerhouse of the U.S. tech scene sits in the heart of an earthquake-prone region. For China, the equivalent is the Greater Bay Area, which despite being one of China’s fastest-growing and most innovative regions is also prone to extreme natural events – in this case typhoons. The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area of China’s southern coast is a true megalopolis. Comprising nine cities and two special administrative regions, if it were a country, it would be the world’s 12th largest economy and is considered by many to be China’s emerging Silicon Valley.
The special economic zone of Shenzhen is one of those cities in the Greater Bay Area that is frequently beset by typhoons. This makes the construction of high-rise structures more challenging and so the city imposes extremely strict regulations on the use of tower cranes. Only those that meet requirements for wind resistance, stability, uncomplicated installation, and efficient operation can be selected.
Needless to say, Potain tower cranes are able to meet, and even exceed, these requirements making them a popular choice with local rental companies and contractors. Nowhere was this demonstrated better than during the construction of the towers of the Lingdingyang Bridge, for which the largest-ever Potain crane, the MD 3600, which has a lifting moment of 3,600 mt (3,968 USt) and was erected at a height of 282 m (925 ft) proved to be a perfect solution.
On another nearby jobsite, the superb free-standing capabilities and overall stability of Potain tower cranes helped another customer win work on Sun Yat-Sen University. For this project, the building owner stipulated that the project had to be completed without the Potain MCT 328 crane being attached to the structure.
In nearby Hong Kong, the even-greater scarcity of land is also requiring the use of large and medium tower cranes in the construction of a huge number of precast concrete buildings, bringing additional challenges and opportunities to contractors and their suppliers. With typhoons and other factors in mind, Hong Kong’s rental companies are famously demanding when it comes to purchasing tower cranes because, should an accident occur, they may not be permitted to use these machines ever again in their rental fleets.
Nevertheless, Potain’s long-running support in the special administrative region has been appreciated by customers, providing the brand with a particularly high degree of market recognition. Notable recent projects include a private hospital built in downtown Hong Kong using an MR 618 luffing jib supplied by Manta. Another is the construction of a five-tower (up to 40 floors) public housing development in Ma On Shan. This project, for Yau Lee Construction Company, used three MCT 385 and two MCT 565 A topless cranes – the latter released in mid-2022 especially for short-jib applications. The compact, yet high performance, model is perfect for tight jobsites using heavy precast elements in their construction. Yau Lee also has a Potain MDT 809 working in Hong Kong, supplied through local partner CraneWorldAsia.
Elsewhere in the Bay Area, Potain tower cranes supported the second phase of construction of Guangzhou Design Capital, ‘the gathering place for international brands of the design industry and the modern service industry’. With supporting infrastructure being rapidly prepared across the region, Guangzhou has greatly expanded its efforts to attract high-tech industries, and the economic benefits of these industrial clusters are increasingly apparent.
Despite all the challenges that go hand-in-hand with construction projects in this region, its long-term economic vitality seems assured. And, as a long-time tower crane innovator, Potain can be relied on to continue providing customers in the region with stable, reliable, and efficient cranes to drive its ongoing growth.