First of many

Ainscough, the UK's largest mobile crane rental house has taken delivery of the first new crane in a 38 unit order worth £ 12 million (see IC December 2004 News, page 6). The first of 30 Liebherr LTM 1055-3.1 60 tonne-rated three axle all terrains was handed over on 14 December in a ceremony at the recently completed Liebherr-Great Britain Ltd headquarters.

In addition to the 60 tonners, the 38-unit order, which is principally fleet replacement, includes six 100 tonne all terrains and two LTM 1220-5.1s. At the handover event Martin Ainscough told IC that reasons for choosing the Liebherrs included boom length, reliability, commonality of parts and the standard control layout. Ainscough also said he anticipated buying another 50 new cranes in 2005 and that he will be looking at all manufacturers in the mid-capacity 35, 55 and 80 tonne range.

The new Liebherr UK headquarters is a £ 15 million (US$ 28 million) new build on a 10 acre (4 hectare) site north of London. Facilities include 5940 m² of workshops and stores, and separate training and administration buildings. Bays in the workshop have computerised fluid stations so everything can be booked straight to a job. There are indoor and outdoor wash bays, a rolling road, test pad and a separate welding and fabrication shop.