AlmaCrawler launch designed for changing industry needs

AlmaCrawler has launched the new Jibbi 1450 tracked telescopic boom lift, which the company says is a step forward in mission to meet fast moving industry requirements. 

The 1450 delivers 14.8m working height and 12.8m platform floor height, with up to 7.5m of outreach. It achieves this with a class-leading 2,890kg in the Evo (Yanmar diesel) version and 2,910kg in the LTH (lithium 300 Ah / 48 V) version.

The 1450 self-levelling tracked telescopic boom delivers 14.8m working height. (Image: Almac).

For context, says the company, “This is a near 15m boom that transports as easily as a far smaller machine, which fundamentally changes its rental economics on European roads and on jobsites with restricted access.” The result is an alternative for its discontinued Jibbi U-1570.

Three engineering choices define the 1450. First, true dynamic self-levelling on both axes with 15° longitudinal and lateral, which is unusual on a tracked boom of this size and a direct response to operators who need stability on broken ground without the time penalty of deploying stabilisers, says Almac. Second, a resizable undercarriage with three working widths (1.35m/1.90m/2.4 m), so the machine can be maneuvered through narrower entryways and then widens for stability in work mode.

Third, the company’s Integrated Drive System (IDS) with proprietary Dynamic Work Performance (DWP) software, paired with an Autec cable remote.  The IDS allows the operator to manage all drive and boom functions through a single joystick, which reduces the learning curve for rental crews handling multiple machine types in a shift.

More broadly, the direction across the Jibbi range is the option of diesel or lithium versions, weight reduction without compromising envelope or capacity, safety systems built in rather than bolted on, and deeper MyAlmac integration so that every machine sold becomes a connected asset for its  rental partners.

The road to meeting industry needs 

According to Oana Samoila, sales director at AlmaCrawler, there are five trends and requirements shaping the boom lift sector. Those being Electrification, Regulatory and safety convergence, Transport and jobsite footprint, digitalisation and the rise of the connected fleet, along with a gap in the market appearing at both end of the working height spectrum. 

AlmaCrawler’s Jibbi 1290. (Image: Almac).

Electrification is the most visible, says Samoila. “Lithium-ion has matured to the point where it is no longer a premium upgrade but the default expectation in a growing share of tenders, particularly for indoor, urban and low-emission-zone work. We are now designing lithium-first and offering diesel as the alternative, rather than the other way round.”

Secondly, anti-entrapment, secondary guarding and telematics requirements are tightening simultaneously across the major access markets, and customers want a single specification that satisfies all of them out of the box, digitalisation and the rise of the connected fleet.

When it comes to transport, restrictions on European roads and the rising cost of trailer-grade transport globally are pushing OEMs toward lighter, narrower machines that retain working envelope, says Samoila. The Jibbi 1450’s weight is the company’s direct response to this pressure.

On the subject of connected fleets, Samoila adds,”Rental consolidation is accelerating, and the consolidators expect machines that report into their systems from day one. Telematics has moved from value-added option to baseline requirement, and that shift will continue.”

The fifth point, says Samoila, is “industry-structural rather than purely technical”, but it is influencing design priorities tangibly. “As the largest OEMs have concentrated on the highest-volume product classes, real gaps have opened at both ends of the range — taller machines that extend the work envelope further, and smaller, more compact platforms that some manufacturers have stepped back from or de-prioritised.

Samoila adds, “Demand on both fronts is real, and our roadmap reflects it; we will continue to grow our height and range proposition upward through the Jibbi series, and we are actively exploring more compact models to serve the lower height segments where the market has been left without a credible offer.”