[Job story] Five Potain Tower Cranes Support Canebiers-Villette Eco-district Build in Southern France
A fleet of five Potain topless tower cranes is working on the Canebiers-Villette eco-district site in Cagnes-sur-Mer on France’s Mediterranean coast. Launched last year, the scheme aims to deliver a mixed-use neighborhood combining housing, retail space, and community facilities. The local dealer Grues et Matériels Côte d’Azur (GMCA) is a joint venture between Riviera Montage […] [Job story] Five Potain Tower Cranes Support Canebiers-Villette Eco-district Build in Southern France published on The HeavyQuip Magazine.
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A fleet of five Potain topless tower cranes is working on the Canebiers-Villette eco-district site in Cagnes-sur-Mer on France’s Mediterranean coast. Launched last year, the scheme aims to deliver a mixed-use neighborhood combining housing, retail space, and community facilities.
The local dealer Grues et Matériels Côte d’Azur (GMCA) is a joint venture between Riviera Montage and Pistachi, two established companies on the Côte d’Azur. A long-standing Potain partner, GMCA operates a fleet of more than 180 tower cranes.
For Canebiers-Villette, it has supplied two MDT 269 units, one MDT 319, one MDT 219, and an MDT 109, which is expected to join the site shortly. The cranes are being deployed on a tight footprint where multiple machines share airspace, making lift planning and anti-collision coordination a daily priority.
The choice of topless cranes is driven by the need to manage hook heights within a limited vertical envelope and to reduce the number of mast sections required. That, in turn, can streamline transport and erection activities, a recurring constraint on compact urban jobsites.
On site, one MDT 269 is set with a 31 m hook height and a 65 m jib, while an MDT 219 works above it at 36 m with a 55 m jib. The second MDT 269 is operating at 46 m with a 55 m jib. The MDT 319 is erected to 56 m with a 65 m jib and is equipped with Potain’s Cab-IN operator lift.
All cranes are fitted with Manitowoc’s Crane Control System (CCS) for configuration and commissioning, and Potain CONNECT telematics for monitoring and remote diagnostics intended to support uptime.
“The site organisation, the positioning of the cranes, and their reliability and productivity allow us to meet the tight schedule.”
Said Xavier Bochet, director of GMCA.
Beyond lifting logistics, Canebiers-Villette is being presented as a low-impact development. Project communications cite the use of lower-carbon concrete, with an estimated reduction of 8,500 tonnes of CO2e compared with conventional solutions, geothermal probes intended to cover around 60% of heating and cooling demand, grey-water reuse for irrigation, and the integration of solar panels and green roofs.
[Job story] Five Potain Tower Cranes Support Canebiers-Villette Eco-district Build in Southern France published on The HeavyQuip Magazine.
