Tour the Palfinger Council Bluffs Facility (Photos)

Upfitting•Photos 19•August 13, 2024

Palfinger North America uses technology such as robotic welding and e-coating to produce service cranes and mechanics truck bodies at its manufacturing facility in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

The location was previously operated by Omaha Standard, a company that started around 1926. The current facility was built by Omaha Standard in 2006.

Palfinger is headquartered in Salzburg, Austria, but the company has more than 90 years of experience in North American markets. It operates four manufacturing locations in North America — Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada; Trenton, New Jersey; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and Council Bluffs, Iowa

Topics:Palfinger Cranes Service Trucks Manufacturing Upfitting

This lightweight yet durable PAL Pro 39 Mechanics Truck is equipped with a PSC 6025 Service Crane and PRC 45V Air Compressor
Photo: Wayne Parham

Jason Mayberry, regional sales manager at Palfinger North America, gives a quick demonstration of the PAL Pro 39 MechanicsTruck outside the Council Bluffs facility.
Photo: Wayne Parham

The team prepares to extend the service cranes for testing.
Photo: Wayne Parham

Booms are prepared for assembly.
Photo: Wayne Parham

An operator tacks components in place on the weld fixture while the robot is welding another assembly. In this operation, tack welding the assembly is necessary for the automated process.
Photo: Wayne Parham

Team members weld side packs and clips for body assembly.
Photo: Wayne Parham

A worker grinds welds to finish body assembly prior to inspection.
Photo: Wayne Parham

A team member performs a quality inspection of the crane body after welding prior to painting.
Photo: Wayne Parham

A rack of PAL Pro parts are shown after top coat.
Photo: Wayne Parham

A PAL Pro body has just finished getting sprayed with Ultimate Lining. coating.
Photo: Wayne Parham

A fully loaded trailer with finished crane bodies is ready for shipment.
Photo: Wayne Parham

Finished Palfinger service cranes are ready for shipment.
Photo: Wayne Parham

A team member fills Work in Program locations for crane assembly.
Photo: Wayne Parham

An operator maneuvers the Station 1 weld fixture and assembly to begin the robotic welding process.
Photo: Wayne Parham

A robot runs in auto mode, welding the exterior of the underframe assembly.
Photo: Wayne Parham

A Palfinger employee sets up the brake press to form parts for the weld line.
Photo: Wayne Parham

Palfinger's e-coat process involves multiple stages.
Photo: Wayne Parham

Mike Dempsey, E-coat manager for Palfinger North America, explains the tracking system used to manage the product flow through the e-coat process
Photo: Wayne Parham

A team member loads a crane onto a body to stage for loading.
Photo: Wayne Parham