Liebherr LG 1800-1.0 lattice boom truck crane. Photo: Alex Dahm/KHL Group

Around 600,000 visitors from more than 200 countries enjoyed the sunshine in Munich, Germany, in early April, for the Bauma 2025 construction industry trade show.

The world’s biggest trade show was held during a week dominated by talk of trade tariffs but exhibitors and industry leaders reported a positive atmosphere and said the show could provide real stimulus to the equipment industry.

Erich Sennebogen, Sennebogen managing director, said Bauma had shown a “strong heart” and an unexpected positive atmosphere; “For this reason, Bauma can be a positive stimulus for a revival in the construction industry, as well as in the material handling sectors, both in Germany and internationally.”

Steffen Günther, a member of the board of directors at Liebherr-International, said the seven day event was much more than just a trade fair; “it is the platform where the future of the industry is made tangible.”

Aaron Ravenscroft, Manitowoc Company president and CEO, said, “The show has been fantastic. It’s always a great opportunity to spend time with folks that we have long-term relationships with. It’s been fun to celebrate.”

Toshiaki Ujiie, Tadano Group president and CEO, said, “Bauma offers the perfect stage to present our latest technologies and solutions to a global audience. It is an invaluable event that enables us to exchange ideas directly with our customers and industry experts.”

Joachim Schmid, managing director at VDMA (the German Construction Machinery and Building Material Plants Association), said the show had been a “great success and in some cases exceeded the business expectations of our member companies.

“The upcoming formation of a new government [in Germany] with the recently published coalition agreement and the expected investment packages are providing positive momentum, as is the trend to focus more strongly on the European market.”

Yang Dongsheng, chairman at XCMG Machinery in China, reinforced the company’s strategy for success in Europe, “We’re committed to being a key enabler of Europe’s sustainable, smart infrastructure future.”

Bauma organiser Messe München said there was a significant increase in visitor numbers, particularly from Brazil, Portugal, Romania, Netherlands, Turkey and Spain. The number of visitors from China also increased.

Strong trends among many of the 3,601 exhibitors from 57 countries included digitalisation, sustainability and electrification. See some of the crane and transport industry highlights over the following pages.

Tadano’s new 1,250 tonne capacity CC 78.1250-1 crawler crane ordered by Maxim Crane Works in the USA. Photo: Alex Dahm/KHL Group

CRAWLER CRANES

Tadano’s brand new CC 78.1250-1, a 1,250 tonne capacity lattice boom crawler crane was displayed as a successor to the CC 68.1250-1. Built for heavy lifting applications, it offers improved capacity, transportability and operational performance, the manufacturer said. Going hand in hand with news of the big new CC 78.1250-1 crawler crane was the announcement at the show that one had been sold. USA-based rental giant Maxim Crane Works signed the first order for one.

“At Maxim Crane Works, we are committed to providing our customers with cutting-edge lifting solutions,” said Paul McDonnell, CEO, Maxim Crane Works. “The specifications of the CC 78.1250-1, including its exceptional lifting capacity and transport efficiency, made it an easy choice for our fleet. We can’t wait to have this crane available to work on critical projects.”

Sennebogen’s new range-topping 6203 E telescopic boom crawler crane has a capacity rating of 200 tonnes and a 78 metre maximum reach. It is the tenth telescopic boom model in the range. Its six-section pinned boom extends to 56.4 metres.

Sennebogen 6203E tele boom crawler crane in the colours of Franz Bracht. Photo: Alex Dahm/KHL Group

The Kobelco CKE900G-4 lattice boom crawler crane on show was sold to Carney Plant based in the UK. Longstanding Kobelco customer Bigge Crane & Rigging from the USA celebrated its 18 year partnership with the Japanese manufacturer. Weston Settlemier, Bigge president and CEO, said the two companies have grown together through the years, persevering through thick and thin.

Jekko’s new JCX80 crawler crane. Photo: Alex Dahm/KHL Group

New from Jekko in Italy was an interesting and different type of crane. At first glance the JCX80 is simply a small telescopic boom crawler crane. Closer inspection reveals, however, three cranes in one. As standard it is a small conventional telescopic boom crawler crane with pick and carry capability and no outriggers. In tower configuration its main boom is vertical, offering a hook height of 26.5 metres and then at 90 degrees to it is a jib giving a horizontal reach of 10.7 metres. The third mode is called pass-over. It is where the bottom part of the boom mounting can be raised, “turret up”, giving a hook height of 17.8 metres. Maximum horizontal reach is 25.2 metres. Interesting is that it can reach down, at a negative angle, by as much as 11.9 metres below the machine.

Chinese crane maker Sany’s crane displays were spread around the show ground. Electric crawler cranes, including a lattice boom model and the 100 tonne capacity SCE1000TB-EV telescopic model with 50 metre boom, were grouped on one stand and all were sold to Dutch and Belgian customers.

WHEELED MOBILE CRANES

An electric and-or hybrid theme dominated the new wheeled mobile cranes on display.

The new Liebherr LTM 1150-5.4E hybrid all terrain crane with onboard battery. Photo: Alex Dahm/KHL Group

Brand new from Liebherr was the 150 tonne capacity five axle LTM 1150-5.4E wheeled mobile telescopic crane with hybrid electric and diesel drive. It carries a battery, boxed on the rear of the crane, to allow untethered movement and can also be plugged in via a cable to the electricity grid on site to charge the battery and for full power operation.

Grove’s new 150 tonne capacity hybrid all terrain crane is available in two versions, with 60 or 68.7 metre boom. Photo: Alex Dahm/KHL Group

Grove’s brand new 150 tonne capacity plug-in hybrid all terrain crane is on a five axle carrier. There are two versions: GMK5150L-1e with 60 metre boom and GMK5150XLe with 68.7 metres. As much as a full day (five hours) of emissions-free lifting is possible, the manufacturer said.

It has a fully electric upper works for crane operation and the loads charts are the same as for the diesel versions. Charging the 180 kW-h battery can be done by plugging the crane into a grid connection or via a 170 kW onboard generator driven from the engine, for example, when it is running on the road between jobs.

Marchetti’s Trio 0E is a new fully battery-electric 15 tonne capacity mini rough terrain type city crane. The five section telescopic boom extends to 19.1 metres (15 metres for pick and carry duty). It will lift 4 tonnes to the maximum height of 21 metres. At 18 metres radius the capacity is 400 kg.

Spierings City Boy fully electric mobile folding crane. Photo: Alex Dahm/KHL Group

Dutch crane manufacturer Spierings showed a fully electric City Boy mobile folding crane with both eLift and eDrive. In addition to working on site from either a battery or grid power, it can travel on the road under battery-electric power.

Chinese maker XCMG claims its 60 tonne XCA60_EV as the world’s first hybrid all terrain crane. An in-house-developed electro-hydraulic hybrid system is said to cut carbon emissions by 40 %. Dutch crane and transport specialist Wagenborg took delivery of another unit.

Also highlighted at Bauma was the 80 tonne XCMG XCA80G7-1E. It offers a 60 metre boom and a dual-hook co-ordination function for urban projects. The 250 tonne capacity XCA250G7-1E all terrain has remote-control operation for single-operator efficiency and a 76 metre boom.

Trailer to carry counterweight behind the Liebherr LTM 1055-3.3

The new three axle Liebherr LTM 1055-3.3 wheeled mobile telescopic crane with 40 metre boom replaces the LTM 1055-3.2 from 2001.

Designed for high performance with maximum flexibility, the new 55 tonner has an unconventional axle arrangement with two of the three towards the front, separated from the rear one by a wider spacing. This allows 9 tonnes of ballast to be carried, towards the front, while maintaining 12 tonnes per axle. That is 80 per cent of the maximum counterweight.

Without any onboard ballast it weighs just 26 tonnes, or just under 9 tonnes per axle. In Germany a long-term national permit is available allowing unrestricted road travel. That similarly applies if towing a trailer so all 11 tonnes of counterweight can be carried on that trailer. On site the crane can be set up and all the counterweight can be lifted on in one go.

Tadano has already rebranded the Valla and PM cranes it acquired with Manitex. Photo: Alex Dahm/KHL Group

Since its completion of the takeover of Manitex, Tadano has already rebranded its newly acquired brands, including Valla (pictured) and the PM articulating cranes.

Link-Belt’s good looking cab styling. Photo: Alex Dahm/KHL Group

On show from US manufacturer Link-Belt was the 120|HTLB truck crane which offers a 60 metre reach. Its seven-section pin and latch boom has the options of two- or three-piece offsetable SmartFly jibs to extend the maximum tip height to 80.1 metres.

Crane Service from the USA signed up for another 800 tonne capacity lattice boom wheeled mobile crane from Liebherr during the show. It will be the third LG 1800-1.0 in the fleet and deployment is expected on wind farm sites for turbine construction and maintenance.

Potain MR 309 luffing jib tower crane. Photo: Alex Dahm/KHL Group

TOWER CRANES

Manitowoc displayed its 25 tonne Potain MR 309 luffing jib tower crane for the first time. It also announced its largest Potain luffer yet for the European and North American markets.

The new 64 tonne capacity Potain MR 819 is twice that of the existing MR 608B and MR 618 luffing jib tower cranes. Maximum boom length is 70 metres.

Stafford’s new 20 tonne luffer. Photo: Alex Dahm/KHL Group

The brand new Stafford Tower Cranes STL.257 20 tonne luffing jib model made its debut right in the heart of the South outside area.

As standard it has a 60 metre boom. Erected on 40 metres of tower sections, the underhook height is 57.8 metres and the tip load is 3.3 tonnes.

The tip load capacity can be increased to 4.0 tonnes in certain configurations. Rear swing radius is just 7.5 metres.

Zoomlion’s new 40 tonne capacity R800-40 flat top tower crane with the round tube tower design from Wilbert was on show.

Zoomlion R800-40 flat top tower crane with round tube mast from Wilbert. Photo: Alex Dahm/KHL Group

It is designed to the EN14439 standard and made in China.

Maximum freestanding height is 66.5 metres and the longest boom is 80 metres. It is the company’s highest capacity tower crane available in Europe.

Spanish manufacturer Saez displayed its distinctive new heavy lift flat top tower crane in the 1,100 tonne-metre class with German rental and sales specialist BKL.

Grúas Sáez from Spain showed this 1,100 tonne-metre class flat top tower crane. Photo: Alex Dahm/KHL Group

FM Gru from Italy showed top slewing and self erecting tower cranes, including the 727 RBI-FA self erector.

The new 36 tonne capacity, 600 tonne-metre class Liebherr 620 HC-L 18/36, is the second biggest in the luffing jib model range after the 64 tonne 710 HC-L 32/64.

The latest addition takes the range of luffers to nine models, starting with a 12 tonner. Its maximum jib length is 65 metres, at the end of which, on the longest radius, capacity is 7.65 tonnes.

Scheuerle doing deals at Bauma. Photo: TII Scheuerle

TRANSPORT

Scheuerle had a strong presence at the show. UK-based heavy transport and lifting equipment provider NXGen ordered an additional 100 axle lines of self propelled modular transporter. The deal includes 4 and 6 axle line variants, as well as power pack units. Delivery of the first batch was scheduled for July 2025.

Goldhofer marking a major order from Denzai of Japan. Photo: Goldhofer/Denzai

Japanese transport and lifting specialist contractor Denzai is adding a total of 48 lines of Goldhofer self propelled modular transporter (SPMT) to its equipment fleet.

The deal is for eight modules of the German manufacturer’s PST-ES-E (315), each with 6-axle lines. Denzai will use the new equipment for offshore wind energy generation construction projects. Delivery is scheduled for January or February 2026. In the picture, left to right, are: Omar Jradi, Kohki Uemura, Jean-Philippe Martin, Halyna Kukoba.

Cometto showing its new electric power pack unit, developed in conjunction with Scania and shown in Mammoet colours. Photo: Alex Dahm/KHL Group

Presentation of the new Cometto electric power pack unit developed as a collaboration between Scania and Cometto. It is for the MSPE self propelled modular transporter.