With new product launches planned and a new business development manager on board, Tutt Bryant is excited about the year ahead.
Tutt Bryant has been the distributor and service provider for Kato and HSC Cranes (Sumitomo Cranes) for many years. Recently appointed Tutt Bryant business development manager cranes, Peter Lawgall, explains a bit about his new role and what customers can expect to see from each of the brands over the coming 18 months.
“Having spent a large part of my career in and around the crane sector, I’ve known some of the team at Tutt Bryant for a while and when I heard my predecessor was retiring after a well-deserved 26 years in the position, I went through the interview process and was delighted to secure the job. I’m now the national business development manager for Kato and HSC Cranes (Sumitomo Cranes) which means I look after crane sales nationally. My family were involved in mining some 60-70 years ago and used to purchase equipment from Tutt Bryant back in the day so it’s a pleasure to become a part of that history” Lawgall said.
“My role includes sales as well as the overseeing of servicing, product support and back up which means coordinating with our national service and support channels.
“There are some major developments happening this year, but the market will have to wait for the detailed announcements. I am predicting that within 18-24 months Tutt Bryant will have additional crane sales and service staff across the states, supporting our growing customer base locally. These are very exciting times for both Tutt Bryant and our business partners,” Lawgall said.
Related stories:
According to Lawgall, the Tutt Bryant business has been synonymous with cranes and construction equipment for many years.
“The Tutt Bryant Group, Tutt Bryant Equipment, Tutt Bryant Hire and Tutt Bryant Heavy Lift & Shift. All the divisions are separate but work collaboratively under the one banner. I operate under Tutt Bryant Equipment and report directly to our general manager, Simon Davies. We are very proud to be the importer and dealer for two of Australia’s most trusted and widely used crane brands in Kato for mobile cranes and HSC for crawler cranes.
“We’ve got Tutt Bryant Equipment branches in every state and our business is growing very nicely. We have recently opened a Tutt Bryant Branch in Launceston Tasmania; this will be another avenue to support our customers nationally. I deal individually with all of the state managers, service managers including parts support. Right now, it’s a very exciting time and I am happy to be surrounded by colleagues who have the same direction and desire to increase market share and continue with a very high level of support to our customers,” Lawgall said.
There are new product releases planned for both brands this year. The first is the Kato CR-250Rv 25t city-class crane, according to Lawgall.
“The CR-250Rv is going to be totally unique because it’s the first 25t city class crane to be exported out of Japan, Design Registration Approval is near complete and a major product launch will soon be announced. This is going to be a very big day for Tutt Bryant and the eagerly awaiting customers.
“The 25t model fits nicely in between the 20t city class crane, also from Kato (the CR-200Rf) and the 40t all terrains.
“A couple of the crane’s biggest features will include a hydraulic luffing and telescoping fly which takes one operator 10 minutes to ‘swing’. Ordinarily you are looking at two workers for a great deal longer to swing a standard luffing fly because everything is manual. The 360-degree camera angle with movement sensors will detect anyone within the proximity of the out riggers and an audible to alert the operator. The screen is massive giving the operator terrific all-round vision of the site. In my opinion, this crane really is the next level for the city class cranes, as most models haven’t changed in such a long time, but this really is a quantum leap forward in terms of operator confidence and safety.” Lawgall said.
The CR-250Rv features a 29m of boom with 8.2m hydraulic Luffing and Telescoping fly and Lawgall describes it as a big step ahead in city class cranes with excellent charts. This is a completely new model engineered from the ground up, not just an upgraded chart from a smaller model.
“The interest has been phenomenal. To date, we have received over 40 enquiries and we haven’t really started marketing the crane yet. We’ve generated the interest by getting back to the basics, being on the road, saying g’day to people and making the personal connection face to face. Once it’s on the road, we’ll be looking at importing a lot of these cranes. I’m working very closely with the design department at Kato trying to eventually have all the modifications for Australian roadability done at the factory.” he said.
“Because of the Australian road rules, I can put 16s on this crane for Victoria and New South Wales but not for Western Australia, South Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory. Therefore, we’re going to go with 20.5s across the range unless specifically requested by the customer. It’s an exciting time and I believe we are going to be very successful with this crane. In my opinion it is an obvious choice for customers looking to step up from the 20t range of city cranes,” Lawgall said.
Lagwell said that Kato is also launching the KA-1100RX a 4 axle 110t all-terrain crane.
“Simon and I went to the factory late last year and inspected the crane and were more than impressed. I’ve had a lot to do with all terrains, and the quality on these cranes equals or surpasses just about anything I’ve seen on the market. Kato in Japan commands approximately 85 per cent of the all-terrain market and that’s why they are keen to have a look at opportunities in exporting to overseas markets. The full specification of the KA-1100RX shall be announced shortly” he said.
Kato cranes are popular for the simplicity of its computer/operating control systems. When you look at some of the other brands, particularly the European products, they feature complicated operating systems, the thing operators love about the Kato is it’s easy to navigate. With other brands, you need be constantly be going back to the manual checking all setting are correct, especially for some older operators. This can lead to operators lacking confidence,” Lawgall said.
Excellent operability is also a hallmark of HSC Cranes, which is also from Japan. Over the last year, an all-new SCX-3 range has been progressively released by the manufacturer.
Following the arrival of the SCX1000A-3 (100t capacity) and SCX1500A-3 (150t capacity), HSC recently released the much-anticipated SCX2800A-3 (275t capacity) which replaces the long-running and highly successful SCX2800A-2. This year will see the release of the SCX1800A-3 (180t) to complete the SCX-3 range.
HSC Cranes are renowned for their reliability, performance and class-leading features. Further advances in all the models of the SCX-3 range include backward compatibility on basic components such as boom insert sections, enhancements in transportability, assembly and disassembly, and improved operational safety. Crane operators will benefit from a simple and intuitive interface, with productivity assisted by fine speed control dials ergonomically positioned for ease of access and flexibility.
The SCX-3 crane models also introduce a range of optional extras such the reduction counterweight and swing restriction systems. The reduction counterweight system enables the crane to operate at up to five different capacities, thus enabling a perfect balance between capacities and ground pressures throughout the model range. Meanwhile the swing restriction system can be used to limit the range of slew to pre-set working zones, perfect for tight constrained sites.
“The four crane models in the SCX-3 range bring into the play the economies of scale, we’ll have less model in the range, more sales leading to more competitive pricing. There are some really interesting developments with this side of the business and there will be more announcements to come regarding larger capacity and telescopic boom crawlers as well.
“Tutt Bryant has employed me to ensure our continued growth in the Australian crane marketplace, we will achieve this with the continued support from Kato and HSC Cranes. We have a very heavy schedule planned for service training and hands on operational training being carried out on a national basis. This is only one part of the expansion in the crane sales division for Tutt Bryant,” Lawgall said.