German crane rental company Klema has impressively logged more than 400 operating hours since taking delivery of its Grove GMK6400 in mid-December last year. The 400 t capacity all-terrain crane, which is the largest in the company’s fleet, has built bridges, installed pre-cast concrete structures and assisted in general construction projects at job sites across southern Germany.
The crane has even worked on two jobs on the same day, which included working the Grove GMK6400 through the night. The crane started at a leisure complex where it lifted 12 t steel beams at a 50 m radius, before heading down the highway to build a bridge, where it carefully lifted 60 t pre-fabricated concrete beams.
The capacity and reach of the Grove GMK6400, along with its fast set-up time and easy operation, make it the most effective lifting crane, explains Sven Bauer, technical manager of the Klema Group.
“Currently, no other six-axle crane comes close to the sum of the features of the GMK6400,” he says. “As the first crane of its kind in Bavaria, we can take full advantage of its capabilities. Extremely short set-up times, in particular with the self-rigging MegaWingLift, keep it ahead of all other crane concepts in this class – which gives us a competitive advantage.”
For the first of the two jobs that took place on the same day earlier this year, the crane spent two days at a huge spa in Erding lifting steel beams to expand the facility. For this project the crane was fully set-up with its luffing jib in less than three hours.
When this two-day project finished, the GMK6400 headed down Munich’s main ring-road later that night to lift huge sections of pre-cast concrete bridge onto their abutments. The crane was given special permission to drive against the flow of traffic to reach the construction site and had to prepare the site with partial outrigger support.
Once there, part of the very busy Autobahn A99 was closed to carry out the work and Klema’s team was given an extremely tight deadline to complete the job. The work formed part of a major redesign of the Aschheim junction, one of Munich’s notorious traffic bottlenecks.
The crane had to be moved on the job site several times but its quick set-up and maneuverability ensured work continued at an efficient pace and was completed on time, much to the delight of the crane’s proud operator, Klaus Kellner.
“It’s amazing how the Grove Megatrak suspension system can handle such forces,” he says. “Manitowoc has managed to translate ‘fireworks of new ideas from Wilhelmshaven’ into reality. What other crane offers such technical refinements as a combined hydrostatic drive, a split hook block, aluminum rims or an elaborate Megadrive energy saving concept? Not to mention lift capacities that some larger cranes can't even achieve."
Klema’s Grove GMK6400 joins several other Grove cranes in its Munich-based fleet, ranging from the 40 t capacity TMC540 truck-mounted crane to the 400 t capacity GMK6400 all-terrain crane.
The Grove GMK6400 is the strongest six-axle crane in the world. It offers a 60 m boom, a unique self-rigging capacity enhancement MegaWingLift attachment and a new single-engine concept that reduces weight and improves fuel efficiency.
Established in 1965, Klema started with a 6 t capacity truck crane. Since then, the company has continually grown a fleet that offers capacities from 30 t to 400 t. Klema also offers dislocation machines, heavy transportation, industrial assemblies and planning services.