Among the latest fleet and handling innovations to make their debut at last year’s Road Transport Expo, Hiab unveiled a new series of Merchant Cranes featuring a choice of specifications to meet the precise needs of customers in a clearer and more efficient way.
Billed as the UK’s premier trade show for the road haulage industry, RTX 2025 featured some 300+ exhibitors on site at NAEC Stoneleigh in Warwickshire, enabling visitors to discover the latest in cutting-edge, products, services and solutions for their fleet requirements. And in addition to showcasing the new DEL Tail Lift alongside the MULTILIFT Futura 12, Hiab drew back the curtain on its “groundbreaking” range of Merchant Cranes.
The series is “specifically engineered to meet the tough, day-to-day demands of builders’ merchants” by offering three different capacity options — Merchant 18, Merchant 26 and Merchant 32 — and availability in the ‘graded’ specification levels of Classic, Pro or Pro Plus configurations. Accordingly, the manufacturer states that “there’s a crane to suit every job.”
Significantly, with ‘ready-to-go’ packages available from stock, merchants can benefit from “shorter lead times and faster delivery to keep your business moving.”
“Some customers want a fairly basic crane, but others need a more advanced crane with additional features. Having three different models will allow us to support different customers in the very best way.”
The Merchant 18 variant is described as ‘compact and agile,’ making it “ideal for tight spaces and lighter loads” in addition to being “perfect for urban sites and smaller yards.” Referred to as the “fleet favourite,” the Merchant 26 is said to be a versatile, mid-size crane that “balances reach and payload for everyday delivery needs” while the Merchant 32 is designed for heavier-duty tasks, handling large bulk materials with “high lift capacity and lasting durability.”
Package proposition
The three standardised ‘packages’ — Classic, Pro and Pro Plus — have been configured to offer customers a “smart balance of control, safety and simplicity,” ranging from straightforward daily use to more advanced features and ensuring there is a setup to suit every builders’ merchant’s individual requirements.
Furthermore, developed with industry input, the standardised and pre-configured nature of the solutions offers a host of further benefits to provide the “reliability, efficiency and ease of use that busy merchant fleets need.” For example, a standardised range reduces the need for bespoke engineering, “saving time, effort and cost as predefined packages and reduced customisation mean quicker assembly and faster turnaround times.”
Indeed, the manufacturer states that “core models and ready-to-go packages are held in stock,” facilitating improved lead times and reduced downtime as a result.
Equally, the “consistent setup across crane types and packages” allows operators to get up to speed quickly, meaning simplified training and onboarding, and “no steep learning curves for those working with the cranes.”
In a video posted on the handling solutions specialist’s LinkedIn page from RTX 2025, Hiab UK & Ireland Sales Executive John Abbott commented: “Today we unveiled our new builders’ merchant range, with the Classic, Pro and Pro Plus offering different levels of functionality to suit the customers’ needs. The important thing is they will be competitively priced and they are ‘packages,’ so the customer can understand the functionality very easily and tailor it to their requirements.
“Some customers want a fairly basic crane, but others need a more advanced crane with additional features. Having three different models will allow us to support different customers in the very best way.”
For more information on the Hiab Merchant Crane series, use the shortcode www.rdr.link/mbx031
In an insightful blog post on the Hiab UK website, the business highlights the importance of sustainability in terms of load handling in our towns and cities.
Increasingly, the implementation of low and zero emission zones is impacting upon both the daily operations and longer-term strategic planning of many businesses, not least those in the merchant sector. The article notes that there are “over 300 low-emission zones in European cities today, and nearly 150 cities across the globe are planning or implementing such areas.”
Clearly, the industry needs to be evolving too, and Hiab outlines its “vision is to be the number one partner in smart and sustainable load handling solutions — helping customers thrive in clean cities.”
The manufacturer explains that its eco portfolio is “specifically designed to help customers thrive in tomorrow’s urban environments,” with solutions focusing on electrification, alternative energy sources and a wide offering of services.
For example, its ePTO (Electric Power Take-Off) systems allow loader cranes to operate with the truck engine off, which means “zero exhaust fumes and very quiet operation.” And beyond the hardware, digital tools also play their part. Hiab HiConnect, for instance, can monitor fuel consumption, idle times and even emissions in near real-time, helping customers “pinpoint inefficiencies and reduce both their environmental footprint and operational costs.”
Click here to read the full article.
