03.02.2022

Mammoet investigates BMS 3,000t ringer UPDATED

Dutch international heavy lift and transport company Mammoet has issued a statement saying that it is investigating the possible violation of its intellectual property rights by Huisman and BMS.

The investigation concerns the new 3,000 tonne ring crane that Huisman is currently building for BMS, as well as other ‘land cranes’. See: 3,000 tonne ringer for BMS
Mammoet says that if it finds that the two companies have violated any patents or copyrights it will take steps to actively enforce its legal rights in any and all applicable jurisdictions. It provides no specifics about what the violations might be, the crane itself is a relatively simple concept which adopts classic crane principles.
Please register to see all images

The new Huisman/BMS 3,000 tonne ring crane

UPDATE
Huisman has categorically refuted Mammoet's claims and issued the following statement:

“We were surprised to read in the media Mammoet’s allegation regarding an alleged breach of intellectual property. We have not received any details of infringement claims. Huisman is the inventor of the Modular Ringer Crane. Since the delivery of the first one of its kind 25 years ago we have built up a multi-decade track record of designing and constructing this type of crane."

““Huisman has very high standards when it comes to intellectual property in the development of our technically advanced products. This is also the case with the design of the 3,000 tonne Ringer Crane for our client BMS Heavy Cranes, an entrant in the growing heavy lift market."

“As we do with each contract, prior to the signing with BMS Heavy Cranes, we conducted a thorough patent investigation to ensure that there were no infringements. Therefore, we will await the outcome of Mammoet’s investigation with confidence.”

Vertikal Comment

One has to assume that Mammoet has some detailed knowledge on some specific design details that Huisman plans to use, that it holds patents on. The basic concept of the crane is ancient, and owes more to traditional derricks and ring cranes, made popular by Manitowoc etc.

It may well be that Mammoet is simply firing a warning shot at the two companies, alerting them to the fact that if they do contravene any of its patents it will take legal action.

We have been here before of course, and typically what happens is that after a series of press releases the whole thing goes quiet and we either hear nothing more on the subject or the two parties say that they have settled the issue, without revealing any details.

Watch this space, I guess.

Update
The final Word April 29 2022

A Dutch court has ruled that Mammoet’s allegation that Huisman had infringed its intellectual property rights with the 3,000 tonne ringer crane it was building for BMS was unsubstantiated and illegal. It has been ordered to communicate this publicly.

The full retraction is as follows:

Dear Sir, Madam,

In February 2022, Mammoet has alleged that Huisman is possibly infringing on its intellectual property rights with Huisman’s 3,000mt ringer crane contract with BMS. The suggestion of IP infringement is unsubstantiated and therefore unlawful against Huisman. The Provisions Judge of the District Court of Midden Nederland (The Netherlands) has, in a judgment of April 28, 2022, ordered Mammoet to share this rectification. On behalf of Mammoet, I hereby request you to remove any information based on the press release shared with you earlier, or alternatively, to add the contents of this letter (in full) to your article. Yours sincerely,

Mammoet Holding B. V.
Paul van Gelder, CEO