China’s First Auto Works (FAW) built the chassis and exported it to Kato’s Goka, Sashima-gun, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan factory, where Kato assembled the outrigger boxes and hydraulics, and the complete upper works were mounted.
The 55t-capacity crane has a 43m boom and 15m fly jib, weighs about 42t and draws power from a 228kW (at 2,300 rpm) Euro II-compliant engine. Maximum capacity at 31m radius is 500kg. A computer-based working area limitation system helps to prevent the crane hitting the sides of tight spaces.
The crane is ACE’s sixth. ‘It’s been a big year for us. The business has grown by 300%,’ says ACE General Manager Wayne Slater.
Started by owner Tim Watkins in 2002 as a transport, mobile crane and access equipment hire business, ACE services Auckland construction companies involved in commercial properties, particularly those erecting steel frames and precast concrete.
‘We were looking to buy a crane that would be good on New Zealand roads. However, there was nothing available in the second hand market so we decided to go new.’
The crane’s appeal for ACE lay in the machine’s smooth operation through joy stick control. ‘It’s a simplistic machine really – not complicated to operate at all. Plus, feedback from our operators confirms that the upper works cab is very comfortable and user-friendly.’
Within a few days of delivery the crane was hired out to erect steel framing and precast concrete for a new warehouse.
ACE bought the crane from New Zealand Kato dealer Titan Plant Services.
