01.12.2008

National to drop knuckle booms

National Crane, the boom truck brand owned by Manitowoc and built at its Grove plant in Shady Grove, has announced plans to cease production of its articulated loader crane range in order to concentrate on its principal telescopic boom truck products.
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A National Articulated crane

The practical terms of this withdrawal mean that the company will stop accepting new orders while building out existing orders. It will also continue to provide parts and service support on an indefinite basis.

Vertikal Comment

National Crane has offered an articulating crane range for at least 30 years, but the line has never sold well. The initial problem of a small domestic market meant that the company could never really justify the investment required to keep up with or match the big European companies such as Hiab and later Palfinger.

National’s strength was always its telescopic boom truck line for which it is the market leader. The company never really took the articulated loader crane business seriously, so dropping the line is not a big deal.

This might not mean however that Manitowoc has completely given up on the idea of building articulated loader cranes. There have been rumblings for some time that the company might be interested in acquiring a significant loader crane manufacturer. And in the current environment an ideal target might just look too attractive to resist?