Freo orders 15 all terrains

The order, for 15 Grove all terrain cranes is the biggest in Freo Crane's 35 year history. The company believes it is also the largest single order for all terrain cranes to have been placed in Australia.

"We were looking for a single supplier for the next stage in our expansion plan. It allows us to standardise on training for operators and technicians and also allows us to share ancillary parts for optimum storage and cost efficiency," explained Tony Canci, Freo Cranes managing director.

The order is made up of three models: the 80 tonne GMK4080-1, the 130 tonne GMK5130-1 and the 220 tonne GMK5220, which was the first to be delivered. "The GMK5220 has a 68 m boom which is excellent for a 5-axle machine. It is perfect for work in refineries, petrochemical plants and reaching over buildings in built-up sites. The additional boom length means we don't need to move it so often; we don't need to fit a fly jib and overall it just saves times," said Canci.

He added that a major challenge for Freo Machinery was to balance stricter safety constraints on mine sites, petrochemical plants and refineries - where cranes are often limited to 75 to 85% of their lifting chart capacity - with providing compact equipment with easy access and unequalled performance.