Choose a loader crane by three numbers: its lifting moment in tonne-metres, its maximum reach in metres, and its lifting capacity in kilograms at the distance you actually work. A loader crane is a truck-mounted knuckle-boom (articulated) crane, and its capacity falls as the load moves away from the column. COPMA builds knuckle-boom loader cranes from 2 tonne-metres (COPMA 24T) to 750 tonne-metres (COPMA 7500). This guide sizes a crane with certified COPMA load figures, one worked example at a time.
A lifting moment is a load multiplied by its distance from the crane column, expressed in tonne-metres (Tm).
One tonne-metre is one tonne held one metre out from the column.
The tonne-metre rating is the headline figure used to rank loader-crane size.
Because moment equals load times distance, capacity falls as the load moves farther out.
The COPMA 228 is rated at 22.8 tonne-metres.
It lifts up to 10,095 kg close in at 2 m.
At its maximum reach of 24.27 m it carries 295 kg.
That is the same crane at the same rating, with capacity dropping from 10,095 kg to 295 kg as the load travels from 2 m out to 24.27 m.
Read the tonne-metre figure to compare crane sizes, then read the load chart for the exact capacity at your working distance.
Take your heaviest load and the distance at which you must place it, then choose the model whose certified capacity at that distance meets the load.
Close-in capacity is the largest figure a loader crane reaches, measured at its shortest working radius.
The COPMA 24T lifts up to 995 kg at 1.48 m.
The COPMA 228 lifts up to 10,095 kg at 2 m.
The COPMA 240 lifts up to 10,100 kg at 2.05 m.
The COPMA SPE 900 lifts up to 35,800 kg at 1.95 m.
The COPMA 7500 lifts up to 104,700 kg at 6.2 m.
If your load sits farther from the truck, read the capacity at that radius rather than the close-in figure, because capacity falls with distance.
Choose reach when you must place lighter loads far away, and choose capacity when you must hold heavier loads closer in, because the same tonne-metre rating can be built either way.
The COPMA 240 and the COPMA 240 SC are both rated at 24 tonne-metres.
The COPMA 240 is the reach-first build, with a maximum reach of 23.3 m carrying 300 kg at that distance.
The COPMA 240 SC is the capacity-first build, with a maximum reach of 10.4 m carrying 1,790 kg at that distance.
At the same 24 tonne-metre rating, the SC build holds 1,790 kg at 10.4 m where the standard 240 holds 300 kg at 23.3 m.
For heavy loads at short range, the COPMA SPE 900 is a short-reach, high-capacity example, rated at 90 tonne-metres, lifting up to 35,800 kg at 1.95 m and reaching 15.5 m with 3,450 kg at the tip.
Choose the number of hydraulic boom extensions by how far you need to reach, because more extensions give greater horizontal outreach at a lower capacity at the tip.
The COPMA 24T is offered with 1 to 3 hydraulic extensions.
The COPMA 228 is offered with 2 to 7 hydraulic extensions.
The COPMA 240 is offered with 2 to 7 hydraulic extensions.
The COPMA 240 SC is offered with 3 to 4 hydraulic extensions.
The COPMA SPE 900 is offered with 4 to 7 hydraulic extensions.
The COPMA 7500 is supplied with 6 hydraulic extensions.
Fewer extensions keep more capacity at the tip, while more extensions trade tip capacity for distance.
Add a jib when you need to reach beyond the limit of the standard boom, accepting a lower capacity at the tip.
The standard boom sets the reach before any jib is fitted.
The COPMA 228 reaches 19.18 m on the standard boom without a jib.
With the jib fitted, the COPMA 228 reaches 24.27 m carrying 295 kg.
The COPMA 240 reaches 18.7 m on the standard boom without a jib.
With the jib fitted, the COPMA 240 reaches 23.3 m carrying 300 kg.
The COPMA 7500 reaches 22.4 m on the standard boom without a jib.
With the jib fitted, the COPMA 7500 reaches 46.5 m carrying 2,300 kg.
If your work stays within the standard boom's reach, a jib is not required.
COPMA builds truck-mounted knuckle-boom loader cranes across a range from 2 to 750 tonne-metres.
COPMA groups its loader cranes into the ESSENTIAL, HIGH POWER and TOP RANGE lines.
The COPMA 24T is the entry point of the range at 2 tonne-metres.
The COPMA 7500 is the top of the range at 750 tonne-metres.
Loader cranes sold in Europe are governed by EN 12999, the European standard for loader cranes.
EN 12999 sets requirements for the loader-crane category, covering design, testing, stability and overload protection.
The standard applies to the loader-crane category as a whole, not to any single model.
Size a crane by its tonne-metre rating, its capacity at your working radius and its maximum reach, and treat EN 12999 as the category's design and safety framework.
See these models working on the COPMA channel:
