General Crane orders 60 Comansa towers

Florida, US-based General Crane USA has ordered 60 tower cranes from Linden Comansa in what might be the largest order ever in North America for tower cranes from one manufacturer, it was reported in IC sister magazine, AmerICan Cranes & Transport.

The deal was closed early last month, according to Matthew Dobbs, North America vice president of sales at Linden Comansa. “We have had a good relationship with General Crane for a long time and they deal exclusively in our product,” said Dobbs. “We've worked out a two year delivery schedule that has already started. The cranes they ordered are in the 300, 400 and 550 ton [tonne-metre] class.”

The cranes will be rented in markets throughout the country and are a part of a strategic expansion by General Crane, said Jim Robertson at General Crane. “We're expanding our market from South Florida to Atlanta, northern Florida and the panhandle of Florida,” said Robertson. “These are markets we haven't been able to servICe because we didn't' have enough tower cranes.”

General Crane has about 50 tower cranes in its fleet and owns another 15 working in Las Vegas with associated company Republic Towers and Hoist.

Robertson said his company chose Spanish-made Linden Comansa for a number of reasons, mainly familiarity and performance. “We have used the cranes for years and the new models are performing well,” he said, “We are happy with the support we are given by the manufacturer and we just decided to lock in and go with them. We needed to order that significant number in order to have the timing and control necessary for our expansion.”

Dobbs said that long-time customers like General Crane stick with the brand because of the modular system. “You can use parts and pieces from one crane to another, interchanging electronics, components and jib systems,” he said. “That's a huge advantage for anyone who owns our product.”