U.S. Operators Compete in World Crane Championships

The U.S. is among 17 countries participating in the World Crane Championships 2016. Hiab, part of Cargotec, invites the world’s best crane drivers to compete in the tournament.

The competition has now started and the first qualification round took place on 16 March in Madrid, Spain where Carles Amils Xampro, representing Arenes I Graves Castellot S.A., won the Spanish qualifications. Further qualification rounds will continue in the participating countries around the world until the WCC finals at the IAA exhibition in Hanover, Germany in September 2016.

The best driver at the WCC finals will win a prize worth €25,000.

Sebastian Poccard, senior vice president, sales and markets at Hiab, said: “I am very excited about this competition, which Hiab initiated last year to celebrate our 70th anniversary. As the industry pioneer it is in our nature to set standards and create the most positive customer experience in the industry. The World Crane Championships is a great example of our innovative approach to inspire our customers and crane operators in a new exciting and fun way.”

The first-ever World Crane Championship Hiab organised in April 2015 started a new tradition in the industry, giving crane operators from around the world the chance to showcase their skills and measure their abilities against their peers.

At the 2015 WCC finals in Birmingham, UK, Johnny Jensen from Denmark had the skills needed. He won the competition at the impressive time of 2:18:49 and took the grand prize of €25,000 and the honour of being the first World Champion in crane driving.

The 17 participating countries this year are Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Spain, the United States, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Russia, and New Zealand.

Information about the dates and how to register for the qualification rounds in each country is available at www.hiab.com/en/global/wcc2016. The German qualifications will take place on 15-16 April at the Bauma exhibition in Munich.

The winner of each country’s qualification will proceed directly to the finals at the IAA in September.

The competition involves performing difficult manoeuvers with a truck crane in the quickest possible time. The crane is a state-of-the-art mid-range HIAB HiPro crane mounted on a Hiab branded truck that will be touring through most of the qualification rounds in Europe. The winner of each country’s qualification will proceed directly to the finals at the IAA in September. The names of the winners will be announced on Hiab’s website.

“The countdown has started for the big World Crane Championship 2016. All crane drivers around the world are welcome to take part and compete,” said Poccard.