Gottwald AK680-3

Two AK 680 cranes were built, one similar to the AK 850 (AK 680-1) and one on a semitrailer configuration. The conventional AK 680-1 was constructed in 1980 for Scott Greenham, later becoming part of the GWS fleet after Grayston, White & Sparrow took over Scott Greenham. When Rentokil Initial acquired GWS, the heavy cranes were sold to Sarens, while smaller machines were sold to Ainscough. Sarens extensively rebuilt and refurbished the crane in 2001, featuring a new style Demag driver’s cab. Internally, it is now referred to as the AK 680-3.

The semitrailer crane was originally supplied to Stanley Davies in 1979 and carried Maxilift equipment. Due to their close collaboration, the crane operated under Hewden Stuart livery. Following a crash with Maxilift equipment during a job, the insurance company sold the crane to Schmidbauer. Schmidbauer retained the Maxilift equipment for their AK 850 and sold the crane to Tecmaco in Argentina. Tecmaco, a subsidiary of Sarens, eventually transferred the crane to Sarens themselves. This semitrailer crane, known as the AK 680-4 within Sarens, utilizes a 6-axle Gottwald tractor with a four-axle bogie.

Over time, both AK 680 cranes received reinforced 18-meter (59-foot) boom sections while possibly retaining the original ones. Additionally, there is evidence that Hewden Stuart rigged the crane with a 107-meter (351-foot) luffing jib on one job, exceeding the official specification of 95 meters (311 feet).