Manitowoc unveils largest Potain luffing jib to date

Manitowoc has introduced its largest Potain luffing jib tower crane yet for the European and North American markets. Debuting at bauma 2025, the new MR 819 offers a jib length of up to 70 metres (229.7 feet) and a maximum lifting capacity of 64 tonnes (70.5 US tons). This effectively doubles the capacity of the manufacturer’s previous largest luffing jib models, the 32-tonne (35.3-US-ton) MR 608B and MR 618.

The MR 819 was developed in response to customer demand for tower cranes capable of handling heavier precast components on large-scale construction sites, including infrastructure projects like bridges and nuclear facilities.

“We developed the Potain MR 819 to support our large rental and high-profile contractor customers,” said Thibaut Le Besnerais, VP of marketing and development for tower cranes at Manitowoc. “To develop the new crane, we drew heavily on the design of our latest luffer, the MR 309. This allowed us to engineer a crane with optimally sized components that offer the easiest transport and assembly.”

The MR 819 is designed for job sites with tight working conditions or multiple cranes. Depending on the jib length, the crane’s out-of-service radius ranges from 18 metres (59 feet) to 16 metres (52.5 feet). It uses the new K 880 mast system, with each section measuring 2.45 metres (8 feet) wide and 5 metres (16.4 feet) tall. Using 12 sections, the crane can reach a freestanding height of 65.6 metres (215.2 feet) with jib lengths up to 50 metres (164 feet). An alternative configuration allows for a height of 60.6 metres (198.8 feet) using 11 mast sections with the full nine-section jib.

When anchored to a building and configured for a C25 wind profile, the MR 819 can reach a height of 210 metres (688.9 feet) with a 65-metre (213.3-foot) jib using only five anchoring frames.

In terms of lifting performance, the MR 819 can handle 64 tonnes (70.5 US tons) at a 17-metre (55.8-foot) radius when using three-fall reeving and a 55-metre (180.4-foot) jib. At the jib tip, it can lift up to 10.8 tonnes (11.9 US tons). With two-fall reeving and a 65-metre (213.3-foot) jib, the crane can lift 42 tonnes (46.3 US tons) at 21 metres (68.9 feet), and 7.4 tonnes (8.2 US tons) at maximum reach.

To support these capacities, Manitowoc developed a new hoisting winch for the MR 819. The 270 LVF 213 Optima features a 200-kilowatt motor, 838 metres (2,749 feet) of rope capacity and line speeds up to 183 metres per minute (600 feet per minute) in single-fall mode. In three-fall reeving, speeds reach 61 metres per minute (200 feet per minute). The crane’s 110-kilowatt 150 VVF 90 luffing hoist raises the jib from 15 degrees to 87 degrees in 2 minutes and 20 seconds.