US rental company AmQuip has set up a heavylift division and is targeting clients in the power sector who are increasingly looking for turnkey solutions, general manager Frank Bardanaro has told Cranes Today.
Bardanaro said that he and his colleagues spent the majority of their time at the Conexpo show in Las Vegas last month exploring the equipment available for the heavylift operations.
‘In addition to spending time with the manufacturers, we spent a great deal of time with several of our competitors to “brain-storm” about the future of the crane rental industry. It was unanimous that in order for crane rental companies to continue to grow, we must be able to fulfil our customers needs in the heavylift and rigging department. In fact, some of the larger contracts being awarded at the power-plant works won’t even accept crane rental quotes from rental houses unless the crane rental package includes a turnkey operation.’
AmQuip placed orders at the show for two 600t-rated Liebherr LR 1600 crawler cranes. ‘These machines will be the flagships of our heavylift division,’ Bardanaro said. ‘We felt that all of the manufacturers offered excellent products, but we chose the Liebherr because of the capacity and ability to work on crawlers or outriggers. In addition to this flexibility, we were able to to talk to current owners of these machines to discuss some of the things that they felt could be improved for use in the US. Liebherr was very receptive to our suggestions, and we are currently working with them to make some changes that will allow for easier transport in the US.’
AmQuip also placed orders for a Grove GMK 5120B all terrain, two Liebherr LTM 1250 all terrains and a Liebherr HS 855 crawler while at the show.
Of his week in Las Vegas, Bardanaro said: ‘We felt that the overall mood at the show was very up-beat, and we feel there are some great opportunities to strengthen relationships with regional competitors as the need for large crawlers continues to outpace their availability.’