Kanoo Machinery, Grove’s Saudi Arabian distributor, has completed delivery of an order for 27 Grove GMK 3050, GMK 5100 and GMK 5200 all terrains to oil company Saudi Aramco.
The contract, worth more than $50m, is the second that Saudi Aramco has awarded Kanoo for Grove cranes since the company launched a 10 year crane fleet replacement programme in 2002.
Saudi Aramco’s total fleet of 270 cranes has been built up since the early 1970s and is one of the largest in the world. The company is a long established Grove customer with 230 of the existing fleet supplied by Grove including a variety of rough terrain, all terrain and truck mounted models. It also owns a number of Liebherr ATs.
In early 2002 Kanoo won the first replacement order winning a contract worth more than $10m for 19 Grove cranes. The second contract brings the number of Grove cranes that Kanoo has supplied to 46 units.
The models supplied consist of thirty-two 50t capacity GMK 3050 cranes, eleven 100t GMK 5100 units and three 200t GMK5200s.
‘Saudi-Aramco is happy with the Grove performance. We have worked closely with them on the onboard crane data logging system,’ said Bob Curtis, Kanoo Group general manager-machinery. ‘They like the hydraulic luffing fly jib as an easy feature for operating. They like the data management systems which we also provide for other clients.’
The data logging system is designed to provide a comprehensive range of data from field operations to a central control point. Using a PCMIA-based data storage and transfer system, with the ability to operate reliably in extreme temperatures, the data logger works via the established Grove EKS and electronic crane operating system (ECOS).
Other important parts of the deal are the associated three-year warranty and a staff training programme that will be provided to Saudi Aramco. Up to 96 weeks of operator and technical support training are being provided in Saudi Arabia and at Grove’s factory in Wilhelmshaven, Germany.
