The North Devon-based, family-run, mobile crane rental company has been supplying reliable, modern cranes; ancillary equipment; and skilled operators in the southwest of England since 1983 and has recently renewed its fleet.
KAS offers its customers a choice of five cranes, ranging from 40 to 100 t in capacity. The largest among them is the four-axle 100 t capacity Grove GMK4100L-1 all-terrain crane, which joined the fleet in 2019. Its latest addition, the three-axle 60 t capacity Grove GMK3060L-1 replaced an old GMK3055 in the same class.
The company chose Grove based on its previous good experiences with the brand – in particular, the strength and quality of the cranes, as well as the speed and convenience of the aftermarket support.
Andrew Smith, director of KAS, said: "We purchased the GMK3060L-1 on the back of our GMK4100L-1, which has been a very busy crane for us. The quality of the cranes is superb, and we've had such a great experience with Grove, we decided to go with them again.
"The aftermarket support we get is exceptional. If there's ever a problem, I can ring them up and they will either fix it over the phone or send a fitter straight away. If there's a problem in the morning, they will get a fitter on site by the afternoon. The parts team are also very good. I drive cranes as well as run the business so I'm not in an office all the time. My business is outside in a crane where it's not always easy for me to look up part numbers when I need them. But I just give the parts team a call, tell them what I want, and they do all the admin for me to get the right parts sent out in the mail."
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KAS's enthusiasm for Grove did not stop the company from considering other brands, however. "We looked at all the literature for the GMK3060L-1 and compared it to brochures from other manufacturers and the GMK3060L-1 was the best crane for us. It is the strongest product out there," he added.
The GMK3060L-1 offers strong lifting capacities and long reach from its 48 m seven-section MEGAFORM boom on an extremely compact carrier, just 2.55 m wide. Meanwhile, the crane's load charts that start at a 0° boom angle enable it to be operated on many different jobsites, including indoors.
The new crane arrived in mid-June and was immediately hired out for a range of jobs in the construction sector. "When our operator pulled into the yard after his first job with the GMK3060L-1, he had the biggest smile on his face," Smith said.
"I'm really pleased with the new GMK3060L-1. It's second to none on the road. The crane rigs really quickly and operates really fast and smoothly from the top cab. Due to its compact size, we get to where two axles go so it's very rare I'm in the depot," said Tom Edwards, operator of the new GMK3060L-1.
As well as meeting the latest European crash test regulations according to ECE R29-3, the next generation Grove carrier cab has been designed with comfort and productivity in mind. All controls have been ergonomically arranged and are easy to reach so that the operator feels fresh and relaxed while driving from one jobsite to the next.
"We would like to thank Andrew and his team at KAS for the continued trust they have placed in our Grove cranes and aftermarket support – and hope the new GMK3060L-1 all-terrain crane will prove another valuable addition to their modern fleet," said Kim Dandridge, managing director of Manitowoc UK.
