IN FOCUS / KOBELCO AND COASTLINE CRAWLER CRANES
The crawler has been designed to involve less work when mobilising and demobilising the crane.
NEW KOBELCO FOR COASTLINE CRAWLER CRANES Tilt panel specialist Coastline Crawler Cranes recently took delivery of a new Kobelco CKS1100G 110t capacity crawler. Owner Kevin Robertson has been around crawlers since he was a little boy. He explained why he is a big fan of the Kobelco range. 88 / CAL March/April 2022
“I’VE BEEN AROUND CRANES SINCE I WAS five years old. My father ran his own crane hire business, R&M Crane Services, for many years. When I joined the business, 18 years ago, we were operating two crawlers, both were Kobelco with 80t and 70t capacities. I joined the business as the full-time panel rigger back in 2004, and then, in 2007, the business was sold to another crane company. I moved to the new crane company as an operator focusing on tilt up panels,” said Robertson. “Then, in late 2010, I put a deposit on a brand new 80t Kobelco through the previous Kobelco distributor. And I started the Coastline Crawler Cranes business in 2011 with that new crane. Just recently, I purchased another new Kobelco 110t crawler, the CKS1100G, from Troy Hand, crane sales at TRT Australia,” he said. Coastline Crawler Cranes is a tilt panel lifting specialist says Robertson. “We have always specialised in panel lifting work and I service many clients across various industry sectors where this type of work is required. The Kobelco crawlers are ideal for lifting panels up to 50 tonnes, but if the project requires a heavier lift, I will dry hire in a larger crane for the project. Recently, I had a machine on a project with a 280-tonne capacity to lift 70-tonne panels. “The work is varied. We can be lifting panels on a construction site one day and the next we’ll find ourselves building a barn shed on a large cattle property. Anything to do with lifting concrete panels is what we specialise in and Kobelco Crawlers are ideal for this type of work,” he said. In 2018, Robertson traded in the 80-tonne Kobelco. “I purchased a M11000 from TRT, which is a 100-tonne capacity Manitowoc. I operated this for 12 months before a customer in New Zealand wanted to purchase it, because it featured free fall winches. I traded that machine in for a late 2019 M12000 model. Then, in December of 2021, I took delivery of the new Kobelco CKS1100G. www.cranesandlifting.com.au
