Jackson-Cook Cranes increases efficiency

A Manitowoc Grove GHC75 telescopic crawler crane has been used by crane and construction services company Jackson-Cook Cranes to erect a series of high-voltage power line poles in Tallahassee, Florida, USA. According to Manitowoc, the use of the crane helped boost efficiency, shortening the contractor’s schedule by up to two weeks due to its manoeuvrability, the versatility of the telescoping boom, and its pick-and-carry capabilities.

Prior to using the Grove GHC75, Jackson-Cook Cranes tried twice to use a rough terrain crane for the project but the job site’s muddy, uneven terrain proved too much for a mobile crane. “The two rough terrain cranes we brought in for this job both got stuck for over a week each time,” explained Randy Crum, crane superintendent for Jackson-Cook Cranes. “We needed a more manoeuvrable crane to deal with the terrain. The GHC75 gave us the manoeuvrability and stability we needed to get the job done, which really made a believer out of both me and our customer, MasTec.”

The project took place near the end of last year on the Tallahassee campus of MasTec, a Coral Gables, Florida-based engineering firm. The 75 USt GHC75 erected a series of 100 ft-tall concrete poles, which varied in weight from 1.6 USt to 17.5 USt, lifting them all to a height of 5 ft. The crane’s telescoping boom was fully extended to 118 ft for the duration of the job. Thanks to the crane’s pick-and-carry functionality, it didn’t need to be reconfigured for each lift, saving the company a lot of time on the project, enabling it to complete the job two weeks earlier than expected.

“The GHC75 helped us to be more efficient,” Crum explained. “With its heavy-duty crawler tracks, we could immediately get to work without bringing in a matting crew, which we would have needed with other types of cranes. This saved us both time and money on the job.

“I would rate this crane ten-out-of-ten. I have 30 years of experience in this industry, so that’s considerable. If Jackson-Cook has a more consistent need in the future, I would consider permanently adding a GHC75 to our fleet now that I’ve had some quality seat time in it.”

Jackson-Cook rented the GHC75 from new and used crane dealer, Ring Power Crane - a division of Ring Power Corporation.