LUNA All-Terrain Cranes
When the road gets tough, life turns you into an off-roader.
(From the AUTOROLAND 4X4 blog)
Today, talking about 4×4 vehicles is nothing unusual. However, considering that the first one was built in 1907 by Paul Daimler (Mercedes) for the German Colonial Office in Africa, and that it took almost 40 years before they became commercially available, the most famous being the Jeep Willys-Overland (1941–1945) used by the U.S. Army, it is no surprise that the first all-terrain cranes to arrive in Spain were the American GROVE and BANTAM cranes in the 1970s. They were known as the “slow” cranes because their road speed was similar to that of the tractors of the time. It was not until the early 1980s that the “fast” cranes arrived, capable of travelling on the road at speeds of over 60 km/h.
From right to left: Mr. Molero and Mr. Ángel Malo of LEMAN, Mr. Josep Serrat and his son Rosendo Serrat of Grúas Serrat.
This story is relevant because the first high-speed all-terrain crane manufactured in Spain was built by LUNA Equipos Industriales S.A., in Huesca, under the direction of Mr. Manuel Luna (1931–2007), in close collaboration with the founder of Grúas Serrat, Mr. Josep Serrat (1931–2017), and Mr. Francisco Minguella (1937–2006) of Grues Minguella, based in Bellpuig (Lleida). The two were great friends.
As both were experienced mechanics by trade, it is hardly surprising that they ended up designing and building the crane. It is well known how committed Mr. Josep Serrat was to the development of every LUNA crane he purchased. He travelled to Huesca two or three times a month to follow the manufacturing process closely and contribute his experience as a crane operator whenever improvements could be made to any of its components.
Different stages of the manufacturing process.
As an interesting detail, notice that, in its travelling configuration, the crane’s boom head was positioned facing the rear of the vehicle.
Naturally, the first two prototype cranes were delivered to Grúas Minguella and Grúas Serrat.
From right: Mr. Josep Serrat, Mr. Francesc Minguella, Rosendo Serrat and Tomás Minguella.
All of this took place in September 1987.
Today, Industrias LUNA is no longer in operation, but some of its cranes are still working, including our LUNA AT 35, built in 2000.
GSerrat LUNA AT 35/32
All photographs are owned by and reproduced courtesy of Rosendo Serrat.
#mobilecranes #gruasserrat #allterraincranes #cranehistory
