Hack’s Grove GMK6400 sets the bar high on first lift in Germany

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Lifting 5 t loads at an 86 m radius in the middle of a city is a tall order for most cranes – but for Grove’s GMK6400, it’s just a routine job. In this particular case, the job was completed by Hack GmbH, one of Germany’s leading heavy lift and transport specialists, which was testing out its new GMK6400 all-terrain crane for the first time.

The job was in Koblenz, Germany, where the crane lifted construction materials onto the roof of a 60 m tall building. To do this, the GMK6400 was configured with 55 m of boom and a 79 m luffing jib. Complicating matters on the narrow, tree-lined job site was the fact the jib had to be rigged in mid-air to avoid damaging the recently resurfaced road.

Despite these challenges, Hack finished the job in just two days and has since completed many more projects with its Grove GMK6400, much to the delight of company owner Udo Hack.

“Our new Grove went to work immediately and its first job threw us into the deep end – but it went perfectly and the crane has now completed several other challenging lifts across the region,” he says. “The GMK6400 is fast to erect, easy to use, and can perform lifts that few other cranes of this size can complete. I am delighted with how busy the crane is.”

Following the arrival of Hack’s 400 t capacity GMK6400 in the summer, the crane has been in near-constant use. Jobs include wind turbine maintenance and erection, tower crane assembly, and large radius lifts on inner-city sites.

At the job site in Koblenz, the Grove GMK6400 was accompanied by just four trucks. Upon arrival, the crane was fitted with its full 135 t counterweight before the self-rigging MegaWingLift attachment was installed, which increases the crane’s capacity by 70%. Then the GMK6400 assembled its own jib at ground level. Supported by flat-bed trucks, the jib sections were connected and the full 79 m extension was raised. Finally, the crane’s 60 m boom was extended to 55 m, giving it a huge 134 m reach.

In this configuration, the GMK6400 completed the lifts in no time and, the next day, it moved on to a nearby wind farm where it lifted 13.6 t turbine components at heights of more than 80 m.

Having sold more than 50 units in just a year since its launch, the GMK6400 is one of the most popular cranes in the current Grove range. When working at its maximum reach of 134 m, the crane can perform lifts not possible with any other six-axle, or even seven-axle crane.

With more than 50 years in business and 45 cranes in its fleet, Hack is a leader in crane rental, heavy transport and oil spill removal. The company’s crane fleet ranges from special indoor units to huge 500 t capacity mobile cranes, which it supplies to projects across Germany and surrounding markets.