RAR Group recently took delivery of the new Potain MCT 565. It is the latest addition to the largest fleet of tower cranes and mobile cranes in the Canberra region. RAR Group Director Andrew Bodman explains more.
RAR Group was originally former in 1993 as Rumbles Cranes and has grown to provide the Australian Capital Territory with the largest range of mobile and tower cranes.
In recent years RAR has expanded its business to be able to service Sydney and country NSW with mobile cranes, tower cranes and rigging crews.
RAR’s team now totals 80 plus, and the rigging crews specialise in the erection of precast concrete and structural steel, tower crane erection and machinery movements.
“We operate a large fleet of mobile cranes ranging from a Maeda mini crawler through to our 400t capacity Grove GMK 6400. We run a number of Frannas, including the 100th AT40 manufactured by Terex and we also have an extensive fleet of tower cranes with the majority of these being Potains,” said Andrew.
Potain tower cranes have proved to be ultra reliable, says Andrew.
“The Potains have proved to great performers for the business and over a long period of time. We bought the first MCT 385 in the country and now the first MCT 565. Potain have been a really good brand for us; they are great cranes to put up and pull down,” he said.
The MCT 565 offers a maximum potential jib length of 80m, also giving users a flexible choice of jib options, with contractors able to configure it in 5m increments from 25m up to the maximum 80m.
The Potain MCT 565 is also available in 20 t and 32 t maximum capacities, the crane has several advantages beyond its recognised ease of transport and assembly, with better load charts than competitors in its range.
With a compact design and innovative, space-saving features such as a folding cab on the slewing unit and a folding counter jib, each crane’s upper section can be shipped in just nine containers – four fewer than competing tower cranes of a similar size.
There are also three counter jib options of 17 m, 21 m and 24 m to match the chosen jib length – a design feature that not only aids transportation and erection, but also optimises the crane’s overall footprint on tight job sites.
“We have a strong relationship with the team at Manitowoc and we are delighted with the performance of the Potains in our fleet. The Groves – the GMK 6400, and the GMK 5250XL-1 – have been great, all the Grove products we’ve had have been terrific. But the Grove GMK 6400, it’s been a great crane since we purchased it and we have been particularly impressed with its performance,” said Andrew.
The Grove GMK6400 400t capacity all terrain has the best lifting capacity of any six-axle all terrain. It features a 60m main boom and up to 79m of luffing jib, giving it a maximum possible tip height of 136m.
It can handle loads out to a maximum radius of 96m and comes with the optional self-rigging Mega Wing Lift attachment for additional capacity.
The Grove GMK6400 is an allrounder well suited for a number of industry sectors, including wind farm construction and maintenance, erecting and dismantling tower cranes, installing precast concrete panels, infrastructure projects and data centre construction.
Operators like to work with the Grove GMK6400 because of the ease of rigging and smoothness of operation.
The Grove GMK5250XL-1 is one of the most powerful and versatile five-axle cranes on the market. The 250-tonne capacity all terrain features 78.5m of main boom and boasts the quickest setup time in its class.
The cab is tiltable to approximately 20 degrees and offers a commanding view of the jobsite.
The Grove GMK5250XL-1 is supported by Grove Connect, the digital platform which enables remote monitoring through an app-based system providing owners and operators with the ability to view real-time crane information.
The versatile platform advances fleet management, boosts sustainability, streamlines service and maintenance for users, and improves connectivity to cranes with the easy-to-use platform working across smartphones, tablets, and laptops.
The GMK5250XL-1 all-terrain crane is quick and simple to set up, thanks to the self-rigging auxiliary hoist and CCS (Crane Control System) with jog-dial, boom configurator mode and MAXbase variable outrigger positioning. Additionally, the unique Grove MegaTrak independent suspension with all-wheel steering making it easy and comfortable to manoeuvre.
“Our mobile cranes and tower cranes suit the work we have which is mainly multi residential projects in and around the Canberra region, but we are also involved in wind farm maintenance particularly with the Grove GMK6400,” said Andrew.