The employees of German company Neeb were happy to receive three new Grove all-terrain cranes during a handover at the Manitowoc factory in Wilhelmshaven in November 2020. The family business from Wuppertal chose a GMK3060L, GMK4100L-1 and GMK6300L-1 to expand its company fleet.
“We took delivery of a GMK5150L almost a year ago and have been very happy with this strong and reliable crane. This was one of the reasons we decided to purchase Grove all-terrains again,” said the proud new owner of the Grove trio Armin Neeb. “The strong lifting performance and excellent off-road capabilities of the Grove cranes will enable us to meet our customers’ needs even better in the future.”
In the Grove GMK3060L Neeb has received a compact three-axle machine. With a 48 m main boom length and only 2.55 m width, the taxi crane is a benchmark for compactness and performance in its class. Similarly, with its heavy-duty jib and exceptionally large amount of storage space, the GMK3060L is an asset in day-to-day operations. When the boom is fully extended, it can lift an impressive 6.6 t. And at 8.67 m, the carrier is almost as compact as that of a two-axle crane.
“The GMK3060L currently offers the best crane concept in the 60 t class. The long boom, which has a very low boom overhang, combined with the compact design and strong load charts is unique,” Neeb explained.
Flexibility and profitability
The Grove GMK4100L-1 is the second new Grove all-terrain crane in the company’s fleet. With its 100 t load capacity and 60 m main boom, the four-axle machine has impressive performance characteristics. The crane accommodates up to 6.7 t of counterweight in taxi configuration and offers the best load charts in its class. The remaining counterweight, including supporting pads and accessories, can be transported on just one standard semi-trailer.
From Wilhelmshaven, the GMK4100L-1 went straight to a construction site in Wuppertal, where the crane, equipped with 26.2 t of counterweight, got to work on a very confined jobsite underneath a highway bridge. Thanks to the user-friendly Manitowoc CCS (Crane Control System), this demanding first job was very simple. Manitowoc Crane Care employees were also on hand to answer any questions the crane operator had.
“The GMK4100L-1 has an impressive long, strong boom that can be used for a wide variety of tasks, and as such is the most compact taxi crane. The crane can even travel within widths of 2.55 m with 19.9 t of counterweight, which is extremely important when completing jobs in industrial plants,” Neeb said.
The Grove GMK6300L-1 completes the trio of new Grove all-terrain cranes for Neeb. With an 80 m main boom and an optional boom extension of up to 37 m, the six-axle crane can reach a maximum height of 120 m while still lifting 2.1 t. The GMK6300L-1 also boasts a load capacity of 300 t and can lift up to 14 t within a working radius of 14–28 m at full boom length.
Crane rental companies often face challenges when moving cranes. Bridges increasingly have load restrictions in Germany, for example, so the total weight of the mobile crane plays a decisive role when planning the journey to the site. The GMK6300L-1 from Neeb has a boom removal kit in order to drive more flexibly without the boom and with less overall weight. Disassembly and assembly of the boom is quick and easy to perform, and without the main boom the crane can travel on the road with a total gross vehicle weight of less than 51 t.
After the handover in Wilhelmshaven, the GMK6300L-1 headed to a lime works, where Neeb operator Ingo Klees used it to dismantle a tower crane. On the way there, the crane made a short stop at a wind firm to dismantle a crawler crane.
“The right people on the right machines — this makes every job at Neeb run like clockwork,” Klees said.
At the handover of the three cranes in Wilhelmshaven, Jonathan Reckers, area sales manager at Manitowoc dealer KranAgentur Werner, thanked the Neeb team for their cooperation.
“I wish the team much enjoyment with their three new Grove all-terrain cranes and believe they will prove to be an indispensable part of the company fleet,” he said.
German company Neeb was founded in 1961 by Gustav Adolf Neeb and operates throughout Europe, specializing in transport, logistics, structural survey projects, and towing and recovery services. From its headquarters in Wuppertal, Germany, and with the support of partners in Spain, Romania and Canada, the company can meet the international requirements of its customers.
