We have another 14 cranes on order for delivery in 2007 and 2008: eight Tadano-Faun ATs, including two 220t ATF 220G-5s and an ATF 160G-5, and six Groves, including another 5130-2 and two 80t capacity GMK 4080-1s. We currently have about 40 cranes.
The new cranes are for a fleet refresh, but also for expansion.
The Grove cranes are for a new five-year contract in Plymouth at the Devonport Royal Dockyard. The customer asked for Grove cranes, and we have a good relationship with Grove, so we agreed.
Tadano Faun first came on the scene in 2005 when we got two 45t cranes and they have been a excellent part of our fleet. So we went for a range of its cranes over the next two years. I think the 220 Tadano Faun is going to be my favorite crane. I went to Bauma to see it. I think it will boss the market and take work from the Liebherr 250 because it is a lifting animal.
We now have four truck-mounted tower cranes. They have fitted well into the fleet. The 50 range is popular and the 500 is going from strength to strength with Ainscough having such a strong influence in the market these days, after the Crane Services takeover.
The company used two GMK 5100s and a Liebherr LTM 1090 to help a crew scrap an old aeroplane at the Manchester, UK airport. The cranes helped remove the engines and lowered the fuselage to the ground so that its landing gear could be removed, before thBryn Thomas helps out at an airport