Potain Tower Crane Models: The 7-Point Checklist for Choosing One Fast

I'm not the person who sells you a crane and walks away. I'm the person who gets the call when the programme has already slipped and your original supplier says "four to six weeks." In my role coordinating crane supply and site logistics for a Potain dealer, I've spent seven years arranging Potain tower crane models for sites that are running out of time.

Since 2018 I've processed more than 150 urgent crane requirements—machines red-tagged, deliveries delayed, foundations late. Many of those were Potain cranes in Ireland, where my work is based. This is the checklist I actually use when someone needs a tower crane chosen fast and can't afford to choose wrong.

Use it when a site is waiting, an existing crane is down, or the decision has to survive contact with a deadline. If the job is small enough that you really just need to know how to mix concrete in a bucket, I'll cover that too, because it tells you when not to call for a crane.

Step 1: Build the load envelope before the model

Tower crane capacity is not one number. The maximum capacity shown in marketing material is almost never the number that matters on your site, because it applies at minimum radius—and your heavy lifts usually happen much further out.

Get these four numbers before you even look at a load chart: the heaviest single lift including hook block, slings and spreader beam; the working radius from the crane's centre of rotation to the farthest point of that lift; the hook height required under the hook; and the jib length you actually need, not the one you'd like. If someone answers "I think it's around...", stop and verify.

Most buyers focus on maximum capacity and completely miss the radius at which the load is lifted. The max capacity is a brochure line. The load chart is the truth. Period.

Step 2: Choose a family, not just a catalogue entry

Potain tower crane models split into four families, and the fastest way to narrow the list is to decide which family fits your site geometry and your schedule.

• Self-erecting cranes (IGO and HUP series) are the quick answer for short-duration work, housebuilding and sites where a machine must be up and working within a day.
• Flat-top cranes (MCT and MDT series)—from the compact MCT 85 up to the MDT 809—are the workhorses for urban residential and commercial projects. Faster jig assembly and easier dismantling make them strong emergency choices.
• Luffing jib cranes (MR series), such as the MR 415, can raise and lower the jib to clear buildings or neighbouring cranes. These are the default for tight city sites and crane-over-crane configurations.
• Hammerhead cranes (MD series) suit heavy, repetitive lifts on large industrial or infrastructure jobs where speed of hook movement matters more than jib geometry.

Once you've chosen a family, there are usually only two or three real models to compare. Trying to evaluate every Potain model against every other one is how a Friday decision becomes a Tuesday decision.

Step 3: Check what is actually available in your region

The factory can build almost any configuration, but that doesn't help you if the pour is in five days. The practical range is whatever is standing in a dealer's yard or already on a trailer. If you're looking for Potain cranes Ireland, the useful question isn't which dealer is listed online—it's which machines are sitting in that dealer's yard today.

I've seen the same model available on Monday and gone by Wednesday. Regional stock lists of Potain cranes in Ireland change weekly. You might have your heart set on a new MR 415, but the machine that saves your programme could be a slightly used MCT 85 already in the country with matching mast sections. On an urgent timeline, availability is part of the specification.

Step 4: Check the foundation and site power before the truck moves

An emergency crane that arrives before its foundation is ready is just an expensive piece of sculpture.

Potain publishes foundation reaction loads and base drawings for its models. Ask for them and get them to the site engineer before you confirm the machine. Confirm concrete strength, reinforcement, holding-down bolts and curing test results. Also confirm the site's electrical supply: voltage, amperage and connection point. A crane can be mechanically perfect and still sit idle for a day because nobody checked the power supply.

I'd rather ask one boring question now than stand beside a crane that can't be erected on Monday morning.

Step 5: Count everything below the hook, including the concrete bucket

Every lift includes the weight of the lifting gear itself. The item that surprises people most is the concrete bucket or skip. A one-cubic-metre concrete bucket with a full load weighs roughly 2.5 tonnes before you add the hook block and rope. If the "heaviest lift" on your list didn't include the concrete bucket, add it now.

The bucket also needs to suit the crane's hoist speed and landing clearance. A loaded bucket is awkward to control in wind; a tag line and an experienced operator make the difference between a clean pour and a dangerous swing.

Here's the smaller-job side of this article. If a project manager starts asking how to mix concrete in a bucket, the project probably doesn't need a tower crane at all. Mixing concrete in a bucket is fine for small non-structural repairs or fence posts. It is not a method for pouring a structural foundation. The honest answer to that question might be "don't hire the tower crane."

Step 6: Spend 15 minutes inside the cab

It's amazing what gets missed during an urgent dispatch. Before I sign off a unit, someone physically climbs into the cab and switches everything on.

• Test the hoist brake and limit switches with an empty hook at slow speed.
• Check the emergency stops, anemometer and radio remote.
• Check the cabin heating and air conditioning. Start the A/C and watch the compressor. If the compressor clutch doesn't engage within a few minutes or short-cycles rapidly, suspect low refrigerant or a failing clutch—and fix it before dispatch.

The AC compressor sounds like a trivial detail until the operator is up there for an eleven-hour shift in July. On a damp Irish site, demisting matters just as much. The operator's report determines whether your customer ever rents from you again. It matters more than the model sticker.

Step 7: Work backwards from the pour and add a 48-hour buffer

I only believed in a delivery buffer after ignoring it once. In 2023 I arranged a rush delivery to arrive exactly one day before a critical pour. The crane was right, the paperwork was right, and all checks passed. Then the transport broke down 80 kilometres from site and took sixteen hours to repair. The pour was delayed, the crew stood around, and the client's cost went far beyond the machine's rental rate.

Since then our policy is simple: on urgent work, the crane arrives two working days early. A 48-hour buffer costs money. A missed pour costs more. When you're running an emergency crane selection, the buffer isn't extra waiting time—it's insurance.

What usually gets forgotten

Two more things bite on city sites. First, wind limits vary with jib length and configuration; a machine that was fine on an open site in Cork can be grounded regularly on a exposed Dublin waterfront. Second, oversail—the jib swinging over a neighbour's roof or road—is a legal issue before it's a technical one.

Dense cities have a way of keeping experienced operators close together. In New York City, some operators call that informal network the crane club NYC, though it's not a formal organisation you can join. The lesson travels everywhere: before you finalise a city-centre crane, involve someone who has actually worked tower cranes in that specific environment. They know the wind patterns, the permit quirks and the neighbours who complain. Choosing a model without that input is how an urgent job becomes an expensive one.

The bottom line

Selecting Potain tower crane models at short notice is a checklist process, not a lucky guess. Load envelope, family, local availability, foundation, attachments, cab condition and buffer—work through those in order and you'll usually find the right machine in a couple of hours.

Specifications and configurations change. Confirm current load charts, foundation plans and dimensions from official Potain documentation and your local distributor before placing an order.

Potain is a brand of Manitowoc. General figures in this article are for guidance only; actual capacities vary by configuration, serial number and site conditions. Verify with current load charts before making a commitment.