A Grove all-terrain crane was the perfect workhorse for a construction job in Twinsburg, Ohio. On the grounds where a Chrysler automotive plant once stood, Midwest Equipment supplied a Grove GMK5225 to help construct a near 140,000 sq ft distribution and food storage center.
The GMK5225 was on site for almost three weeks, lifting 35 ft-tall concrete tilt-up panels that weighed between 85,000 and 100,000 lbs.
Jerry Caster, an operator with Midwest for 14 years, explained why the job called for the Grove all-terrain crane.
“We previously used crawler cranes for these types of projects because of their capacities, but there were several advantages to using the GMK5225,” he said. “I was able to set the Grove in one place and perform three lifts from the same spot before having to move the crane. This made the job much more efficient and saved us money.”
In all, Caster moved the crane six to seven times a day, performing some 120 lifts over the course of the project. Caster said he was able to finish far more lifts than if he had used a bigger crane. The 225 USt lifting capacity of the GMK5225 handled the picks with ease, aided in how it can travel with its full counterweight of 58 USt on the jobsite.
“I like the Grove cranes over anything else,” Caster said. “Groves run much more smoothly than other cranes. The job in Twinsburg was one of the first jobs we put the GMK5225 on and it performed extremely well.”
Other features of the GMK5225 include a six-section, 210 ft full-power Megaform boom with Twin-lock pinning (up to 331 ft with a jib extension); Megatrak independent, Allison transmission, hydropneumatic suspension with all-wheel steering; and a choice of four outrigger width settings.
Midwest Equipment is based in Cleveland, Ohio and has 35 employees. The company was founded in 1975 and rents out all-terrain cranes, forklifts, industrial cranes and boom trucks, among other equipment. It also offers storage services.
Midwest buys and rents Grove and Manitowoc cranes from Cleveland Crane & Shovel Sales, a dealer based in Bedford Heights, Ohio.
“It was a pleasure dealing with Joe Manos, Mike Ricchino and the rest of the team members at Midwest Equipment for the acquisition of their new GMK5225,” said Andrew J. Forepaugh, vice president, sales, at Cleveland Crane & Shovel. “It was also great news to hear that it will be the first of many new Grove all-terrain cranes as they upgrade their rental fleet.”