Roman forum: International Tower Cranes conference 2025

The eighth International Tower Cranes (ITC) conference on 3 and 4 June will be held in Italy for the first time. There will be a lot to see and hear in Rome. Murray Pollok reports

Nobody needs an excuse to visit Rome but tower crane professionals have the perfect opportunity to be there this June as it plays host to the biennial ITC conference.

As you would expect there is an Italian flavour to the event this year and not just because the country has a rich heritage in tower cranes.

Four Italian speakers will start the event off, with the OEM keynote address being given by Francesco Aiello, general manager at Terex Tower Cranes. He will be followed by two representatives from the new generation of Italy’s tower crane leaders – Tania Colatriano, CEO at Colatriano Group and Daniela Niedestätter, board member at Niederstätter. They will provide delegates with an overview of the domestic tower crane market. They represent the country’s very active rental association, Assodimi.

Federico Della Puppa, head of analysis and strategies at Venice-based consultant Smart Land, will give an update on the major trends facing the construction industry in Europe.

Keynote speaker

The keynote speaking on behalf of the ownership and rental side of the industry, is Philippe Cohet. He spent many years at manufacturer Potain in France before moving on to create Uperio. It was formed by combining what was at one time the world’s largest tower crane-owning company Arcomet from Belgium, and French tower crane rental giant Matebat.

Cohet is also president of the French tower crane association, an influential force in the sector. The title of Cohet’s presentation is: Tower crane rental and ESG: building a sustainable future.

One of the key developments in tower cranes in recent years has been the application of energy saving technology, such as battery storage systems. Steve Bradby of Select Plant Hire will chair a session of experts in this field, including representatives from Dumarey Green Power, Neargrid, Falcon Tower Crane Services and Ampd.

New tower crane technology of different kinds will be described by Daniel Gwóźdź of Krupinski Cranes and Wolffkran’s Dr Mohamed Abouelezz, who will then take part in a wider panel discussion, chaired by Niamh Marriott, deputy editor at International Cranes and Specialized Transport.

Also on the programme is Teddy Holt, operations director at Radius Group, who will present a case study of a remotely controlled tower crane used on a site in the UK. He will be supported by Aviv Carmel of Skyline Cockpit.

No conference is complete without a good case study. An interesting ongoing job that also happens to be in Italy, near Genoa in the north, will be explained by Itinera, the contractor responsible, as well as Potain as the tower crane supplier. The work involves using four of Potain’s largest tower cranes to refurbish a massive highway viaduct with two adjacent carriageways. One carriageway is alternately being kept open to maintain traffic flow during the works. Major explosive demolition was carried out on the carriageways, with the tower cranes in place, to remove steel reinforcement structures added to the viaduct after its original construction.

At the time of writing more speakers were to be confirmed, so be sure to visit www.khl-itc.com/conference for updates.

Rome in June – why wouldn’t you?

Programme

Tuesday 3 June

Afternoon site visit and evening reception (*)

Wednesday 4 June

Full-day conference
Host welcome: Alex Dahm, editor, International Cranes and Specialized Transport

Manufacturer keynote speaker: Challenges and changes in the global tower crane market: a manufacturer’s perspective
Francesco Aiello, general manager, Terex Tower Cranes

Italy’s tower crane market: trends, challenges and opportunities
Tania Colatriano, CEO, Colatriano Group and Daniela Niedestätter, board member, Niederstätter and founder, Rentmas

Construction market insight: Italy and Europe
Federico Della Puppa, head of analysis and strategies, Smart Land

Operating a tower crane from the ground: a case study from the UK
Teddy Holt, operations director, Radius Group, supported by Aviv Carmel, co-founder and chairman, Skyline Cockpit

Round-table 1: Tower engineering trends and technology
Mohamed Abouelezz, head of business development and product management, Wolffkran
Daniel Gwóźdź, CEO and co-founder, Krupinski Cranes
Host: Niamh Marriott, deputy editor, International Cranes and Specialized Transport

Crane owner keynote speaker: Tower crane rental and ESG: building a sustainable future
Philippe Cohet, Uperio founder and Board vice chairman

Future drive technology for tower cranes
Daniel Gwóźdź, CEO and co-founder, Krupinski Cranes

Round-table 2: Transforming energy efficiency in tower crane operations
Introduction: Dr Andrew Deakin, technical director, Dumarey Green Power
Frank Vermeulen, co-founder, Neargrid
Rupert Cook, service director, Falcon Tower Crane Services
Ampd, representative to be confirmed
Host: Steve Bradby, technical and engineering leader, Select Plant Hire

Site report: Rebuilding the Gravagna Viaduct in Italy
Sabino Riefoli, Potain regional sales manager, and Alfonso Ratti, project manager at Itinera.

(*): There will be limited capacity for the site visit. Delegates will be registered on a first come, first served basis, following booking.