Konecranes UK Ltd's Industrial Crane Division has introduced a crane with technology that make its control almost child's play. Called SMARTON, it presents an evolution in crane technology, designed to maximize customer productivity and minimize total lifecycle costs. SMARTON can be used in industrial sectors such as paper, steel handling and warehousing, automotive, general manufacturing, power, workshops, automatic storage systems and mining to name but a few. Depending on the set up, SMARTON can lift loads ranging from 5 tons to more than 500 tons.

SMARTON's intelligent, yet easy-to-use Human Interface to Machine (HIM) system keeps the user continuously up to date on not only the weight of the load but also its position relative to the available workspace. In addition, the crane monitors its own condition and recommends when and what kinds of inspection or preventive maintenance should be performed. This way, the customer can better plan and minimize maintenance shutdowns, thereby maximizing uptime and saving costs.

SMARTON's evolutionary design is based on significant improvements in crane technology in proven modular components and features. This means that the crane can easily be updated with smart solutions, such as automated positioning, sway prevention, extended speed range, defined working areas, maintenance monitoring or remote diagnostics, to meet evolving changes in a customer's business and process needs.

SMARTON is a robust crane that is compact in size. This enables new industrial spaces to be smaller than before, reducing construction costs and heating expenses. The compact structure of SMARTON allows for maximum use of floor space.

SMARTON is designed with environmental responsibility in mind. Braking energy is fed back into the power grid, reducing energy consumption and energy costs by up to one third. In addition, SMARTON is made of 98% recyclable material.

Konecranes itself has manufactured and installed a 40t with 2 x 25t hooks SMARTON crane in its East Kilbride factory. Here interested customers can have hands on experience operating the crane and evaluating its potential for their own requirements.

Orders have already been placed for this new state of the art crane; Saica Paper for it's new Manchester Paper Mill and Siemens wind turbine plant in Denmark to name but a few.