When the $1 billion City Square Tower is completed – about three years from now, if all goes to plan – it will reach a height of 256m, just pipping the 249m Central Park tower. The first two Potains, a pair of MR 295 H20s, were erected onsite last October and were joined in January by an MR 615.The MR 295 H20 has a maximum capacity of 10 tonnes and can lift 2.7t at a 60m radius, while the bigger MR 615’s maximum capacity is 16t and it can lift an impressive 8.25t at 60m.Main contractor Brookfield Multiplex has bought the two smaller cranes from Western Australian Potain dealer D&G Hoist and Crane Hire, while the MR 615 is on hire from D&G.D&G managing director Gino DeCesare said the MR 615 was designed exactly for buildings such as City Square.“If you need a tower crane to fit into an existing congested downtown space with the ability to lift large structural components, your choices are limited,” DeCesare said. “Of the cranes available, the Potain MR 615 is the pick of the bunch.” “It’s a big luffer. And the single fall hoist rope has a speed of 200 metres per minute with a load rating at that speed of 2 tonnes and a luffing speed of 1 minute 48 seconds from maximum to minimum radius.”Yellow Potain tower cranes are a familiar sight on Perth’s city skyline and a clear sign of D&G’s dominance of the WA market. The company operates a fleet of 95 tower cranes (all but one a Potain), with 75 hired out and 20 managed for customers.
