Two German rental companies have added Grove?s trailer-mounted GSK55 crane to their fleets. Both companies, Klema Kranverleih GmbH from Munich and Kranprofis Allg?u GmbH from Pforzen, near Kaufbeuren, are located in the German state of Bavaria. They purchased the 55 t cranes after Manitowoc staged a series of live product demonstrations at the end of last year.

Peter V?lker, Managing Director of Kranprofis Allg?u, said that the crane?s low cost of ownership, high capacity and versatility made it an easy choice. ?The product improvements that Manitowoc has introduced won me over, and we were convinced of the crane?s benefits after testing one in-house,? said. ?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, said that the concept of a semi-trailer rig makes the crane very flexible and much easier to transport.

The GSK55 is the only crane of its type in the industry; its design combines the upperworks of a Grove GMK3055 all-terrain crane with a specially-designed truck chassis that allows it to be towed behind a standard truck tractor.