For over 40 years, Franna has been a name to reckon with in the design and manufacturing of quality pick and carry cranes. The Franna crane goes back to 1978 when crane designer Frank, based in Australia, came up with the first model of the pick-and-carry crane 4WDT for the steel fabrication industry. He named his company Franna in 1999, after his wife Anna and his own name Frank. The company was producing a fair number of cranes when it was acquired by Terex.
“Franna pick and carry cranes offer strength and easy operation to pick heavy loads, and their high road speeds get them to the jobsite quickly. So, we have packaged the Franna Crane as a premium quality machine and are confident of demand for Franna Cranes from the Indian construction industry, even though the market is highly competitive,” Danny Black said.
Franna Cranes with their purpose-built chassis and truck enable the crane to reach an on-road speed of 50-60 km/hr for quick redeployment at sites. A spacious, comfortable, and double protected cabin on the front, provides better visibility for safer working of the crane. “We will consider making further improvisations on the Franna Cranes, which would include design modifications in their load charts to make them more stable. A recent improvisation is the dynamic sensing system, while the Safe Load indicator is standard in all our cranes.”
The dynamic sensing system calculates the pitch and forth movement of the crane, and its variable capacity - with and without load. The dynamic load calculations can be done with the given boom length, angle, and variable hook position. “Even the variable pressure on the hydraulic cylinders can be gauged.”
Franna manufactures AT 15, 15 tons, AT 22-22 tons, MAC 25, 25 tons, and AT40, 40 tons at its flagship facility in Australia. Continuous modifications are made in the cranes’ structural and overall mechanical engineering to enhance their usage. For example, the super lift option in the AT 40 enables the crane to derive 33% more lifting capacity due to the greater lifting power on the winch.
At the event, the company introduced its latest compact pick and carry FR 17 mobile crane, which has been specially designed for the Indian market for higher capacity lifting applications. “FR-17 offers comfort and safety with smooth steering flexibility so that the operator can maneuver it with ease even in tight places. It has a large torque converter, and the no clutch pedal reduces driver fatigue when working for long hours. The heavy-duty U section fabricated boom with welding on the neutral axis gives high durability to the machine while lifting additional loads. Higher stability is offered by the crane through its low centre of gravity and two capacity load charts of 10 and 40 degrees. This provides the Franna crane with additional capacity.”
The new FR 17, indigenously manufactured at the Terex facility at Hosur, will be targeted at crane renting agencies and corporate contractors. “Given the crane’s advanced design, high quality, and superior safety features, I am confident that customers will not hesitate in paying a premium for it. The FR 17 will deliver higher productivity, have lesser operating and maintenance costs, and give higher uptime. In India, based on the varied user applications and on and off-road terrains, both our FR 15 and FR 17 cranes have a four-wheel drive system and feature a differential locking arrangement to prevent slippage.”
According to Danny Black, the company will focus a lot on marketing the 17-ton crane, and will also consider adding higher capacity cranes to its range for both the Indian market and the export markets of Africa, Middle East, and Latin America. What’s more, all the cranes will be manufactured at the Hosur facility.
