The Grove GMK3060 was tasked with lifting concrete panels at a customer job site.
The Grove GMK3060 demonstrated its versatility by working in a two-hook configuration to lift and position the panels.
Austrian crane hire company, Telekrane Engl GmbH, based in Schwoich, has taken delivery of a new Grove GMK3060 all-terrain crane. The compact, three-axle crane travels easily within the 12 t per axle local road limit, yet offers excellent load charts making it the ideal fit for Telekrane Engl to serve its customers in the region. Furthermore, the crane features Grove’s unique Megatrak suspension combined with a powerful Mercedes-Benz engine and ZF transmission, which offers excellent mobility, both on and off-road in Austria’s high-alpine terrain.
The Grove GMK3060 was delivered in the spring of 2015 and went straight to work lifting concrete panels at a customer job site. The crane further demonstrated its versatility at this first job, working in a two-hook configuration to lift and position the panels. Despite the hefty size of the panels, the GMK3060 was able to work with its standard jib, and the attachment had the capacity to handle the task with ease.
The auxiliary hoist, which is available as an option on the GMK3060, gives the crane operator more options for projects and is particularly useful for precast concrete placement.
Following the success of its inaugural jobs, Telekrane Engl chose to boost the crane’s project scope further by purchasing the new heavy-duty jib for the GMK3060, which Manitowoc has recently introduced. One advantage for Telekrane Engl with the new jib is the ability of the crane to operate when both the main boom and heavy-duty jib are positioned at 0˚. Grove is the only manufacturer of mobile cranes that offers load chart configurations for a 0° boom angle for both the main boom and heavy-duty jib. The offsetable heavy-duty jib can be reeved with a rope and hook block or is able to operate with a hook directly attached to its end.
“The GMK3060 brings unbeatable advantages, especially in the Alpine region,” explained Wolfgang Engl, director of Telekrane Engl. “We mostly operate in confined spaces or in high-alpine terrain, so we needed a compact crane that offered good load charts and excellent off-road maneuverability. As well as featuring Manitowoc’s unique independent suspension, Megatrak, the Grove crane is the most compact in its class, making it the ideal solution for our requirements. Manitowoc’s close proximity and outstanding support to its customers in Austria, coupled with the appointment of a new regional service engineer, were also important factors in our decision.”
The 60 t capacity GMK3060 combines a powerful, six-section Megaform boom that features the new Boom Configuration Mode, which automatically selects the optimal boom configuration for a lift once the operator has entered the basic lift parameters. This saves time at the job site and makes the set-up much easier. The GMK3060 was also one of the first Grove cranes to feature Manitowoc’s new Crane Control System (CCS).
“The new Crane Control System is one of the most user-friendly systems on the market and makes life so much easier on the job site,” said Daniel Stuefer, crane operator for Telekrane Engl. “With this new Grove all-terrain crane, I’m now able to drive to sites which we previously had difficulty accessing, and the controls are easy and comfortable to use.”
Telekrane Engl was founded in 1981 and offers crane rental and heavy transportation services across Austria.