News Release
Grove GMK3050 joins German emergency services
8/27/2013 Seesen, Germany
A ten-year-old Grove all-terrain crane was recently transformed into an emergency response vehicle in Germany. Manitowoc Crane Care, together with local crane service company Möhle Crane Service, modified the GMK3050-1 over a 12-week period. The 50 t capacity crane is working for the Kassel fire department and is the only emergency response vehicle of its kind in central Germany.
The fire department chose the crane specifically for its lift charts and easy maneuverability, as Reinhard Kotzan, sales manager at local Grove dealer KranAgentur Werner, explained.
“The Grove GMK3050-1 is ideal for emergency work as it is quick to set up, compact and powerful,” he said. “It has excellent load charts and an impressive boom, which make it suitable for a huge variety of jobs. Modifications are now complete and the crane is an excellent addition to the fire department’s emergency services.”
To prepare the GMK3050-1 for emergency work, the team discussed the needs of the fire service. Initial requirements included special lighting, support tools and a 6 x 6 drive system.
Modification work began in January and lights and headlights were added to the outriggers and to the rear of the crane that help set up quickly and safely in the dark. A universal NATO socket, which is typically used on military vehicles, was added and an electric motor with hydraulic connections was installed to allow the crane to operate from different external power sources or an emergency generator. A large storage box for ropes, chains and shackles was mounted on the chassis, while a life raft was added behind the cabin.
Once the modification work was complete, Kassel fire service representatives were trained in the operation and basic maintenance of the machine.
Grove’s GMK3050-1 is a three-axle all-terrain crane with a five-section, full-power 38 m boom. The crane can lift 4.5 t at 20 m radius and the entire crane measures less than 10 m in length.
Founded in 2003, KranAgentur Werner has a customer base of more than 500 companies and operates out of offices in Zweibrücken and Berlin.
Möhle Crane Service was founded in 1965, in Seesen, Germany. The company specializes in crane rebuilding, towing, rental and installation.
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.