The first Grove GMK5250L all-terrain crane in the state of New South Wales, Australia, has been delivered to Turner and Central Crane Services, a construction equipment rental company serving the Central West area of NSW.
Graeme Jenkins, director at Turner and Central Crane Services, said the company was proud to add this latest crane to its portfolio.
“We have full trust in the Grove GMK5250L and we’re glad to have it in our fleet,” he said. “This new GMK5250L replaces an older 200 t capacity crane and is ideal for our needs. We were particularly attracted to the 70 m main boom and the flexibility in counterweight configuration, which works better for our transport operation than other solutions on the market. Since taking delivery of the unit in August, it has been continuously employed.”
The 250 t capacity crane offers several unique innovations and class-leading capabilities, including the best reach and strongest load chart of any five-axle crane. The “L” designation for the GMK5250L indicates it is a long boom all-terrain crane, and in this case the main boom is an impressive 70 m, which also includes Grove’s Megaform shaping for better strength and stability. With its long boom length, the GMK5250L can offer more reach both vertically and horizontally than any crane in its class, allowing owners to take on a greater range of jobs.
- Class-leading 70 m boom offers unmatched reach and strength.
- Flexible configurations mean the company can use the crane for more tasks.
- Crane is easier to prepare for road travel than the 200 t capacity crane it’s replacing.
The GMK5250L is also far better suited to the road regulations of NSW than the 200 t capacity unit it replaces. This, combined with flexibility in configuration, allows Turner & Central to easily adapt the crane to the job it is scheduled for.
“The unit is lighter than others in its category, which means we can run it on the road carrying the fly jib and hook block,” Jenkins explained. “Many of our jobs involve lifting 50 t loads or placing concrete panels, and the GMK5250L gives us more flexibility for these types of tasks. We run it as a 160 t, 200 t or 250 t crane, depending on the job, so it’s spread across a number of different categories giving us better adaptability. I’m confident that we’ll be achieving very high utilization of this unit.”
As well as being easy to put on the road, the GMK5250L also offers the best maneuverability and class-leading driver comfort, which it delivers thanks to its inclusion of a VIAB turbo clutch and integrated retarder—the first ever mobile crane to feature the system.
The VIAB turbo clutch module eliminates both fluid overheating and clutch burning, while enabling wear-free starting and braking. It also contributes to fuel savings—GMK5250L fuel consumption is estimated at approximately 30% below that of its predecessor, the GMK5220.
Neil Hollingshead, sales director for mobile cranes in Australia, said the company has received lots of interest in the new Grove five-axle machine.
“Because of its flexible setup, the GMK5250L is an attractive option for all Australian states, and we already have over 10 machines that are either with customers or on their way,” he said. “Configuring cranes for road travel in Australia can be a costly and time-consuming exercise, but with the GMK5250L we’ve made that whole process much easier and cheaper for our customers. Also, the crane’s ability to work across categories and its huge 70 m boom mean it can be sent to a much wider range of jobs.”
Boosting overall reach of the GMK5250L is a 21 m hydraulic swing-away jib, which can be extended with either an 8 m boom extension, two 8 m jib inserts, or a combination of both for a total possible jib length of 37 m. For optimum usage, the full jib can also be operated while the crane is working with its full 70 m boom length extended. Another benefit of the jib is its ability to offer increased offset of up to 50° compared to a typical 40o on other Grove cranes in its class – plus there is an optional integrated heavy duty jib available. It also has Manitowoc’s Crane Control System (CCS) technology, which is a standardized operating system being included on all new cranes from the company.
In the short time Turner & Central has owned the GMK5250L, it has already has been employed on a range of job sites, including for work at the North Park gold mines and the Cadia Mine, where it was used to install conveyors. In addition to the GMK5250L, the company operates two other Grove cranes: a 100 t capacity GMK4100 all-terrain crane and a 130 t capacity GMK5130 all-terrain crane.
