News Release
Franz Bracht adds second Grove GSK55 to its fleet
2/7/2013 Erwitte, Germany
One of Germany’s largest crane rental companies has added a second Grove GSK55 truck-mounted crane to its fleet. Franz Bracht KG received its first of the unique cranes in July this year and it has worked almost continually ever since.
Dirk Bracht, managing director of Franz Bracht KG, said the GSK55 is a cost-effective and powerful tool that has proven itself on many job sites, and is easy to move and low cost to run.
“This is the only 55 t capacity crane that can be transported using any normal truck so it doesn’t incur extra costs for special road permits,” he said. “The total weight of the truck and trailer is only 40 t so it can be driven like any normal truck on all roads in Germany and many other European countries. It also enables us to travel longer distances using the shortest route possible, saving time and fuel.”
Franz Bracht’s first GSK55 arrived in July 2012 and immediately set to work at the company’s subsidiary in Arnsberg, a mountainous region with summits reaching up to 650 m above sea level. The GSK55 was selected for the region to avoid lengthy approvals to use the narrow access roads.
Recent jobs have included lift work on a residential construction project and an installation at a wastewater treatment plant – both of which were completed on the same day.
The residential job involved lifting a 3 t mini excavator over a row of houses at a 22 m radius. The GSK55, positioned on the narrow street among parked cars, completed the job in just half an hour. It then travelled 30 km to a municipal wastewater treatment plant where it lifted a 1.2 t drum to a 16 m radius, from the street into the plant.
Grove’s German dealer KranAgentur Werner, which supplied the first GSK55 to Franz Bracht, will deliver the second unit.
The 55 t capacity GSK55 is a trailer-mounted AT on a specially-designed carrier that can be towed by any standard truck. The crane offers exceptional maneuverability thanks to an independently steered third axle and retractable first axle. The crane has a 43 m telescopic boom with an optional 8.7-15 m swingaway jib, bringing the maximum available tip height to 60 m.
Based in northern Germany, Franz Bracht has over 40 years of experience and 200 cranes in its fleet.
The Manitowoc Company, Inc. (“Manitowoc”) was founded in 1902 and has over a 117-year tradition of providing high-quality products and support services that are tailored to customers’ needs. Its 2019 net sales were approximately $1.83 billion. Manitowoc is one of the world's leading providers of engineered lifting solutions. Through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Manitowoc designs, manufactures, markets and supports comprehensive product lines of mobile telescopic cranes, tower cranes, lattice-boom crawler cranes, boom trucks and industrial cranes under the Grove, Potain, Manitowoc, National Crane, Shuttlelift and Manitowoc Crane Care brand names.