07.09.2015

Kato returns

Japan’s second crane manufacturer Kato is planning a return to the European market with its City type All Terrain cranes.

The relaunch, more than 10 years after the company stopped homologating and selling its cranes in the region, will begin this month with the 20 tonne two axle CR-200Ri and will be done in partnership with Irish crane sales company Rivertek Services. Later in the year the company will introduce the larger 35 tonne CR-350Ri, City crane and then towards the end of the year the 13 tonne CR-130Ri.

The new CR 200i features a six section 28 metre boom, plus a four to 5.8 metre telescopic jib that can offset by up to 60 degrees. Being cable suspended it can also erect within the width of the crane, ideal when working in narrow streets or alleys. The crane weighs 19.7 tonnes, is 8.7 metres long, 2.3 metres wide and just 3.2 metres high. The outriggers have multiple width settings and automatic sensing, with a maximum spread of 5.4 metres.
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The new Kato CR200i

Rivertek is part of the JCD Group with revenues of €42.5 million and sells in both Ireland and overseas, but 70 percent of its sales go to the UK. The company says that it is planning to open a dedicated Kato Crane Centre in the UK in 2016.

The company also represents IHI crawler cranes, Mitas crane tyres, but most of its revenues currently come from used crane sales. The new cranes will be built built Kato to CE/EU directives with the declaration of conformity co-singed by Kato and Rivertek.
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The new Kato CR200i is compact, both in work and on the road

In the UK the long standing Kato distributor is Kranlyft has continued to provide a full parts and service support for the products it sold throughout Northern Europe, prior to the manufacturer pulling out. It is unaware of any change to Kato’s UK or EU distribution network.

Rivertek managing director Colin Cleary said: “We are very excited to embark on this enterprise with Kato after extensive time and work in the engineering, design and specification process. This represents a fantastic opportunity to bring the proven reliability of the Kato crane back to the European market and offers fantastic value for all our customers.”

Kato general manager Hiroshi Ide added: “To work with an established partner like Rivertek is important for Kato to progress to the next stage of our CR Range of cranes in Europe. We have worked closely together and look forward to a new era of progress in Europe."

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The new Kato CR-350Ri demonstrates the 60 degree telescopic jib offset

Vertikal Comment

This move is quite peculiar in that a good number of crane buyers have made it be known over many years that there is plenty of demand for Kato’s small city type All Terrain cranes in Europe. The company however has always declined to invest in the engineering required for what is something of a niche market.

In Ireland Rivertek imported used machines and modified them to meet CE standards etc… a trade for which it saw regular demand. Kato however steadfastly refused to change its stance on producing cranes for the EU. And yet now it appears to have done so – a major news story which will be of interest to buyers all over Europe.

However it made the announcement quietly a couple of months ago with just a headline in the news section of its website. At the same time it appears to have given Rivertek some sort of master distributor status and not told its existing, long suffering dealer network.

Quite odd – and not the best way to make a return to the market after such a long absence, but the product is good and Kato’s reputation for quality and reliability remains totally intact, so they should do well regardless of the manufacturers lack of marketing skills.