Hoeflon explains how far its mini cranes reach: 4.6 to 21.5 metres

Two figures that decide the choice

Hoeflon splits reach into two numbers, and argues both should drive crane selection. Horizontal reach — the radius — is measured from the centre of the crane to the furthest point the hook can be placed, and matters when a load has to travel over an obstacle such as a roof, pond or fence. Vertical reach, the lifting height, is the deciding figure on curtain walls, dormers and upper floors.

Across the current electric line-up those figures range from 4.6 metres of radius and 5.6 metres of hook height on the smallest machine to 21.5 and 30.5 metres on the largest. The C1e fits through a standard doorway and works in tight interiors; the C4e reaches 11.7 metres out and 14.6 metres up; the C6e manages 13.7 and 16.0 metres, enough to lift over an average family house; the C10e stretches to 19.8 and 22.0 metres; and the C30e combines 20.0 metres of radius with 22.0 metres of height. The long-boom C30eL tops the range at 21.5 metres of radius and 30.5 metres of lifting height.

Stretching the envelope

The article also covers how the working envelope can be enlarged. A hydraulic fly-jib adds metres in height or radius and, thanks to its articulation, lets the operator lift around a corner or duck under a pitched roof. Many models can set boom angles from minus five degrees to beyond 90 degrees, with the negative angle used to dip the boom through a window opening or passage.

Hoeflon is equally clear about the trade-off: capacity falls as the boom extends. Its own example is the C6e, which handles 3,000 kg close to the machine but around 300 kg at its full 13.7-metre radius.

Matching reach to the job

For glazing on the third or fourth floor the company points to the C10e or C30e with their 22-metre hook height; a heavy truss lifted over a terraced house into a deep back garden is a job for a C6e standing on the driveway; and in congested factory halls the C30eL’s 30-metre-plus vertical reach means the crane rarely needs repositioning. Safety software on the cranes calculates in real time how far the boom can safely be extended, based on the actual outrigger set-up and the load on the hook.

Source: Hoeflon, published 13 August 2026 — Photos: Hoeflon