Tadano and Victor Harbor Cranes

NEW OWNER AND NEW TADANO FOR VICTOR HARBOR CRANES

Marcus Rigney, managing director of Load 28 and current chair of the South Australian branch of the Crane Industry Council of Australia, purchased Victor Harbor Cranes after relocating to the coastal town of Victor Harbor on the Fleurieu Peninsula of South Australia late last year.

RIGNEY HAS BEEN TRAVELLING BETWEEN

his new home and the city of Adelaide, where he manages the Load 28 crane hire business.

“Shortly after moving to Victor Harbor, I learnt of the local council’s Economic Development Strategy and long-term fi nancial plan, which is focused on drawing more people to the region to live, work, and invest,” said Rigney.

“This strategy includes some signifi cant infrastructure projects and I wanted to play my part in the region’s growth and development.

“As it so happened, around the same time, the owner of Victor Harbor Cranes was planning to retire after running the business for 20 years. I didn’t hesitate and purchased it from him, along with a 15t Franna and a 13t city crane.

“My aim is to keep Victor Harbor Cranes as a staple within the local community and to continue to employ local residents and manage projects that keep the fi nancial returns in the area.

“As with Load 28, Victor Harbor Cranes has a very keen focus on delivering customer satisfaction in everything we do. We are also integrating the processes and systems which have worked so well in Load 28 into the Victor Harbor Cranes’ business.

The GT-300EL has a maximum lifting capacity of 30t, a boom length of 34m, and a lifting height of 34m. It also features a load radius of 32m.

“We have the added advantage to greatly expand the capabilities of the business by combining the resources of both crane hire busineses for any major projects in the region, which includes Cape Jervis and Kangaroo Island,” said Rigney.

Load 28 works closely with local councils and local government authorities, and this was another reason for purchasing Victor Harbor Cranes, explained Rigney.

“We are busy working with local councils, SA Water and SA Power Networks, and the acquisition provides us with the ability to geographically expand our coverage and ability to service this type of work, especially on a regional basis.

Rigney made some early decisions about the development of the Victor Harbor crane fleet, and this included the purchase of a new Tadano truck crane.

“Because the business services the surrounding areas, there is a fair amount of road going for the fleet. I could also see we needed to increase our capacity and increase our efficiency to travel to jobs in other areas.

“We decided to purchase a Tadano GT-300EL 30t capacity truck mount crane, which provides us with the required increase in capacity and great roadability. The crane is being utilised by both Victor Harbor Cranes and also Load 28, so it’s travelling to the city and back and it’s designed for this sort of travel,” he said.

The Tadano GT series is designed to meet demand for durable truck cranes with high lifting performance that are suitable for driving on both rough roads and then much faster on main roads or motorways.

The GT-330EL has a maximum lifting capacity of 30 tonnes, a boom length of 34m, and a lifting height of 34m. It also features a have a load radius of 32m.

The rounded boom is constructed from high tensile steel. Extra reach is provided by a two stage (9m/14.3m, 8.5m/14m) under slung jib, which makes installation in narrow spaces simple. It extends the lifting height to 48m with a load radius reaching 40m.

The truck crane features a carrier equipped with leaf suspension at the front and rubber mounted suspension at the rear. The rear suspension was developed in collaboration with heavyduty suspension specialist Hendrickson. The transmission is automatic and there is also a cruise control function.

Conventional cranes outriggers

extended to their maximum length provide uniform, circular rated load capacity footprints over 360° of slewing angle. However, thanks to its safety device and control system called Smart Chart, the crane can achieve a squareshaped rated load capacity footprint, with extended ‘corners’ over the rear outriggers. This increases the load radius depending on the degree to which the outriggers are extended.

The GT-330EL also features Tadano’s fuel monitoring system which has Eco-Mode to reduce fuel consumption when the crane is being operated and Positive Control, which reduces fuel consumption when the crane is on standby. The cranes also have Tadano’s Hello-net telematics system that enables users to monitor crane activity, work history, machine position data, and maintenance information via computers and mobile devices. Tadano also uses this system to offer advanced customer support.

Rigney been impressed the performance of Tadano cranes and is

also impressed with the service and support provided by the team at Tadano Oceania. These were the main reasons for purchasing the GT-330E EL.

“We’ve been extremely impressed with our recent purchase of a 20t capacity Tadano City Crane. It is a well-engineered crane and with its cab features, it is a very nice machine to drive.

“With the GT-330EL, we have also been impressed with the features in the cab and the crane’s load charts. And when you factor in the service and support from Tadano purchasing the crane was a no brainer for the business,” said Rigney.

Victor Habor Cranes purchased the Tadano GT-300EL 30t capacity truck mount crane because it provides the required increase in capacity and great roadability.

“We decided to purchase a Tadano GT-300EL 30t capacity truck mount crane which provides us with the required increase in capacity and great roadability.”