Fred Blake Cranes has been running Grove all terrains for years. To upgrade the capabilities of the fleet, owner and Director David Dickerson took delivery of a new Grove GMK 3060L-1 late last year and the business hasn’t looked back since.
Fred Blake Cranes was established by Fred Blake in 1985 and David and Kelli Dickerson took over the business in 2006. At that time, the business operated one machine, a Coles 1822 truck-mounted a crane.
“The Coles truck crane was an old girl when we took over the business, but it was still a very capable crane. After a few years we could see we needed to upgrade and we purchased a Grove GMK 3055, 55t capacity all terrain crane from Elite Cranes,” said David.
“That was a good crane for us over a number of years, and as time progressed and people came and went in the business, we managed to get ourselves into a 130t capacity Grove GMK5130-2. The business has steadily and progressively grown,
and just last year we purchased a brand new Grove GMK3060L-1.
Fred Blake Cranes services customers and industry sectors within a 150km to 200km radius of its yard in Horsham, a regional city in Western Victoria.
“We are in general crane hire covering all of the requirements of our customers in the agricultural sector as well as the installation of NBN towers, concrete floors, concrete panels, and everything in between,” said David.
“We pride ourselves on providing a customer focused service and this has led to long term business relationships. We are proud that some of these relationships date back to the beginnings of the business and this is as a result of the loyalty we show our customers, and they show us in return.
“We deal with a number of customers on a weekly basis and have done for many years and we continue to service their needs which are increasing all the time. That’s the reason we continue to purchase new equipment to update and increase the capabilities of our fleet,” he said.
Fred Blake Cranes has always been impressed with the overall performance of Grove all terrains, explains David.
“When we bought the Grove GMK 3055 from Elite Cranes, it had 78,000 kilometres on it at the time. By the time we sold it last year, we had clocked up just over 200,000kms on the carrier and we had 17,500 hours on the whole machine. It had worked faultlessly over all those hours and kilometres apart from the clutch needing replacing due to the sheer number of kilometers we had clocked up,” he said.
“In my experience the Grove all terrain is a really solid, first-rate performer. They are good lifters and a very reliable crane. It is extremely robust, provides a great ride with excellent lifting capacities. I have no problem with the Grove and that’s why I’m happy to move forward with the brand,” said David.
The GMK3060L-1 combines compact dimensions with strong lifting capacities and long reach, thanks to the 48m, seven-section MEGAFORM boom. With its additional 8 m long swing away jib the Grove all-terrain crane can reach over obstacles easily. In addition, the BirdView system improves the operator’s all-round visibility when driving and a boom head camera is especially helpful when lifting loads indoors and in halls.
The GMK3060L-1’s load charts are impressive and start at 0 degree boom angle are also extremely useful in applications with tight tolerances. The large storage space with three storage boxes on the crane itself and the large storage compartment in the vehicle frame, allows all sorts of crane accessories to be brought along without issue and these have also received positive feedback.
“There are a number of reasons for choosing the Grove GMK3060L-1. The long boom impressed as did the compact nature of the crane and its ease of operation,” said David.
“All terrains can be complicated pieces of kit, but the GMK’s have proved to be extremely reliable for this business. The telematics is a great feature for the product support going forward and we’ve been impressed by how quiet the QSL-9 Cummins is when working around the crane.
“Another major feature for me, however, is the radio control feature. Particularly when we are operating the fly, the remote control allows our team to work alongside the customer, so we all have the same view of the lift. Remote control is the way forward for certain applications on smaller mobile cranes,” said David.
“The GMK 3060L-1 has been going great. It’s already clocked up 18,000kms and there have been no major issues. As with all new cranes there was a settling in period and during this time there was excellent backup and support from the team at Manitowoc and Victoria service agent JDM Services. No complaints from us, the crane has great capacity, it’s great ride, and all round it’s a good thing,” he said.
The latest generation of Grove carrier cabs was officially launched for three-axle Grove all-terrain cranes at the end of 2021. The modern design makes the carrier cab a real eye-catcher. Inside, it provides an ergonomic, comfortable, and user-friendly work environment.
“The new carrier cab makes the 60-tonner look like a big crane and when you sit inside you get a real feeling of space. The team noticed straight away how quiet the cab of the GMK3060L-1 is compared to other cranes. Our operators will definitely arrive at the jobsite relaxed and ready for work,” said David.
The exterior is characterised by dynamic lines and its modern design makes a lasting impression. With a width of 2.55 m, the carrier cab perfectly fits the overall compact dimensions of the GMK3060L-1.
“The controls inside the new Grove carrier cab are clearly arranged and easy to reach. With our work, we spend a lot of time in the carrier cab – especially in a crane such as our new 60-tonner, which we use as a taxi crane for working on multiple jobsites a day and driving from one task to the next. With the new GMK3060L-1, we can get to the next jobsite in comfort,” said David.
Product support is critical for a business like Fred Blake Cranes. David explains more about the relationship he has with JDM Services in Victoria.
“We are heavily supported by John Mahoney and the team at JDM Services in Melbourne John is a phenomenal fella for us and his backup service and the information he provides us over the phone whenever we have little issues is second to none. He plays a critical role in our operation.
“If we have issues with error codes and things like that, he asks you to go through the software or whatever it might be to fix it. We can ring him day or night, if he does not answer straight away, he’ll always come back to you with a result. Quite often we can be 150kms away, it can be the middle of the night, we can be set up in the middle of the Western Highway and if things aren’t working you need service support. We get this level of support from John,” said David.
Fred Blake Cranes runs the Grove GMK5130-2, the new Grove GMK3060L-1 and also a 20t capacity Humma articulated pick and carry designed and manufactured by DRA Engineering in Western Australia. David explains more about the team.
“We run a tight crew which includes myself, and two other full-timers. We also have three casuals that work with us, it’s a great crew to work with. You don’t feel like you are at work with all the guys chipping in and helping each other.
“We have a very collaborative approach to our work, nobody holds back and everybody is focused on the tasks in front of them which is great. Lift planning is also a collaborative process with everybody involved. This ensures we know what we’re lifting, how far we’re lifting it and we have inspected the ground conditions to make sure everything is suitable for the lift to proceed,” said David.