Schuch puts first GMK6300L AT through paces

German rental company Schuch has used the first 300 tonne capacity Manitowoc Grove GMK6300L all terrain crane in the field.

The crane erected 2.5 MW Enercon E82 wind turbine tower sections in Mensinghausen, near Hannover. The GMK6300L's main boom was extended to 31.5 m, using a maximum counterweight of 92.5 tonnes. In this configuration, the crane was able to lift 74 tonne loads and place them at a radius of 11.2 m.

"We chose it because it's very strong and we knew with the Megatrak suspension it would be easy to move on the rough ground. Another great feature is the crane's availability to rig its own counterweight, which saved the need for an auxiliary crane and made things faster and less costly for our client. In addition, we were able to drive the crane on the job site with the full counterweight attached," said Winnie Backer, Schuch crane operator.

The crane working in Mensinghausen is as part of Manitowoc's pre-production programme, in which cranes are closely monitored and their performance assessed by Manitowoc's engineering team.

A full even section main boom of 80 m is available - the longest on any 300 tonne capacity crane, says the company. It includes twin-lock pinning and Manitowoc's patented Megaform design for optimised rigidity and capacity, says the company.

For further reach, a 37 m jib is available. Maximum length is 117 m and the crane can lift 2 tonnes at that height. A second 38 tonne heavy-duty jib is also an option.