Tailored for the tides: Potain Lift Solutions delivers a tower crane built for the future

• The custom-built Potain MD 689 M25 features a new type of gantry traveling unit, seaside corrosion proofing, and digital connectivity.
• The crane is a significant investment for the port to grow its capacity and facilitate the loading of larger ships with higher capacities.

France's Port of Nantes (Nantes Saint-Nazaire Port) received a major upgrade with the addition of a new Potain MD 689 M25. The crane facilitates the loading of larger ships with greater air draughts and increased capacities. It has been operating since March at the port's naval maintenance and repair quay, replacing a crane that had been in operation since 1960.

Potain Lift Solutions provides analysis, product design, and consultation to customers seeking to optimize crane performance in specific applications or for those undertaking particularly demanding or challenging projects. The division collaborated with the port to tailor the crane to its particular needs and the local working environment. It was erected on a gantry that interfaces directly with the Potain Crane Control System (CCS) to travel across 170 m of rails, covering all three of the port's dry docks.

The traveling gantry is the first on a Potain crane equipped with frequency inverter drives (and the drives are also integrated into the CCS). This delivers smooth, stepless motion along the tracks and excellent lifting performance. It also offers onboard assistance, particularly when paired with the Potain CONNECT™ digital platform, for real-time remote diagnostics, machine operation alerts, and remote actions.