06.03.2012

Two Grove GKS55 for Bavaria

Two Bavarian rental companies have added Grove’s 55 tonne trailer-mounted GSK55 crane to their fleets.

Both companies, Klema Kranverleih of Munich and Kranprofis Allgäu from Pforzen, to the South West of Munich. The two companies purchased the cranes after Manitowoc staged a series of live product demonstrations at the end of last year.

The GSK55 combines the superstructure of a Grove GMK3055 All-Terrain crane with a specially-designed articulated trailer chassis. It can be towed with its full 43 metres main boom and 10.6 tonnes of counterweight by a standard two-axle tractor, and still weigh less than 40 tonnes. Allowing it to travel on German roads without a special permit. Furthermore, the GSK55 is classified in Germany as a “trailer-mounted work machine,” meaning any truck towing it is exempt from road charges or taxes.
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The Grove GSK55 on tour

Peter Völker, managing director of Kranprofis Allgäu, said: “The product improvements that Manitowoc has introduced won me over, and we were convinced of the crane’s benefits after testing one in-house. Our company has many customers in Austria and the flexibility of the vehicle, plus the ease of traveling between Germany and Austria without needing additional permits, were major factors in our decision to invest.”

Wolfgang Klenner, managing director of Klema, added: “The crane combines the strength of a three-axle crane with the transport configuration of a standard truck. This means it avoids the time-consuming travel permit process, making it a more versatile machine that can travel with greater freedom on the roads.”
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(L-R) Klema technical manager Martin Ehrlich, with Peter Völker of Kranprofis Allgäu and Wolfgang Klenner of Klema.

Klema Kranverleih owns 30 mobile cranes, with capacities ranging from 30 to 350 tonnes, along with some specialist models, including spider cranes and mobile tower cranes. It operates throughout southern Bavaria and also offers a range of aerial work platforms.

Kranprofis Allgäu is more of a tower crane specialist, but runs a small fleet of All Terrain cranes with lift capacities from 30 to 220 tonnes.