In 2004 I visited the company Cavicchioli in Castenaso (I), not far from Bologna. Nowadays they are called Trucs. Back then, this was their biggest crane, an Effer 2100 on a MAN 41.414 8x4 chassis.

This is the 410 hp version of the 41 ton chassis with 2 driven rear axles. Between the axles they mounted a small dieseltank and a power unit. Having that is common in Italy, if you want to use the crane also with a workman basket.

The crane is 1 of the very few Effer 2100 models in Europe. It is the STR version of the crane (with the cylinders on the side of the boom) in 4S version. That extends 4x and gives an outreach of 10,86 meters, as the boom parts are not very long. Therefore it can lift a load of 15,85 ton at that distance! That means a capacity of 172 ton/mtr at the maximum outreach of the base crane, and that is rather impressive.

To use that lifting capacity, you need a good set of outriggers. At the front they mounted a heavy set beneatht the flatbed. At the rear they installed an even bigger set of outriggers. For lifting jobs to the rear an additional set of extending rear outriggers was installed. A rare option for such a big crane is the high seat for the operator, even with the full integration of the hydraulic lines.

The crane was built in 2000 and was about 4 years old here. Currently it is running at a different owner that uses it a lot to install heavy machines, a perfect job for this kind of crane!

Even rarer than being an Effer 2100, is the fact that it is equiped with a jib. As we see here, this jib has got quite some lenght. The boom parts are 3 meters each, so with 6 extensions it gives a total outreach of 33,89 meters. The lifting capacity at that distance is 730 kg.

This side of the chassis holds a large storage compartment. On top of that they installed a hydraulic tank, beside it another dieseltank.

Back then a beast of a crane that is still performing great today!!