South Australian crane hire company Urban Crane Hire recently took delivery of a second Tadano City Crane, a GR-200EX. Since starting in 2022, owner Sam Marshall has been delighted with the growth of the business and the performance of Tadano.
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Sam has been a certified crane operator since 2010 and gained experience across a wide range of cranes during this time. He has worked for most of the major crane companies in Adelaide over the years, developing a great reputation along the way.
Urban Crane Hire specialises in the installation of commercial and residential glass as well as structural steel placement and steel construction in and around the greater Adelaide area. In July 2022 Sam purchased the first new crane for the Urban Crane Hire fleet. The Tadano GR-130EX was the foundation machine for the business.
“The Tadano GR-130EX was the first crane I owned. I have always wanted to back myself in this industry and I knew I had the skill set and drive to make it work. Initially I was working from my front lawn, but things got busy quickly. I took on a rigger pretty much immediately and within six months we had nine, and we now have a team of 13.
“I also took the opportunity to purchase a number of mini crawlers and specialised glass handling equipment, which led to our move into our own dedicated crane operating base in Wingfield last year,” said Sam.
Coinciding with this move, Sam began exploring the opportunity to purchase a larger crane to support the Tadano GR-130EX. In early December 2023 Sam committed to his second new Tadano to bolster the fleet and a new GR-200EX City Crane was on its way.
Late January saw the delivery of the new crane into the Urban Crane Hire fleet. The GR-200EX has been named ‘Gary the Goat’.
The Tadano GR-130EX city crane has a lifting capacity of 13 tonnes and features a compact and highly manoeuvrable design which enables operators to complete jobs more efficiently compared to other, bulkier alternative models. The compact carrier can smoothly manoeuvre in narrow spaces with asymmetrical outriggers offering maximum stability. Standard features include HELLO-NET, a telematics system that supports crane management with details on operational status, position and maintenance.
The six section, full power telescoping boom features two telescopic cylinders and when fully extended, the boom reaches a length of 23.8m and only 5.3m when fully retracted. The lifting radius is 23.2m and the compact dimensions are impressive, with the city crane measuring 7.54 m in length, 2m in width and 2.81 m in height.
The Tadano GR-220EX 20t capacity City Class crane is compact with a big reach. Specifically designed for Australian conditions, this bubble crane can make light work of rough terrain and access even the most restricted setup areas. Tadano’s AML-E monitors the extended length of the outrigger and automatically programs the corresponding rated lifting capacities.
The Tadano GR-200EX can work and be mobile with a load on its rubber tyres, making it a very versatile crane. On outriggers it is ideal for unloading trucks, erecting structures and lifting air conditioning units. It is also well suited for set up in the driveways of residential properties and can lift spas without a problem. With a telescopic main boom length of 28m and a 5m fly extension, the GR 200EX city cranes will meet most project requirements.
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Sam talks about the performance of the GR-130EX and why he likes the Tadano brand.
“The GR-130EX has been excellent for us, I can’t knock its performance at all. I went with Tadano because I’ve driven Tadano City Cranes for the last 12 years with my previous employers. In all that time, I haven’t had any major issues with them, so I’m basically sticking to what I know.
“From my perspective, the key features and benefits of the Tadano City Cranes are their ability to get into a lifting position even if access is tight. They are also very handy for house jobs and smaller commercial lifts with tight access,” said Sam.
The ease of use on the machine in relation to setup and operation was another key factor. On top of this, the quality of build and reliability made it an obvious choice.
“The city cranes are really quick to setup. You can be on site, set up and lifting within five minutes. The GR-130EX is also a good lifter with plenty of reach, it’s good on the road and is just a really good allrounder,” said Sam.
“On the strength of its performance we were keen to add another city crane to cope with all the work we have. I spoke to Steve Lazenby, Tadano’s Sales Manager for South Australia who I’ve known for some time, he’s a terrific guy very experienced with Tadano and a smart operator. We spoke about having slightly more capacity with the second crane and he recommended the Tadano GR-200EX.
“We took delivery of the new crane in January and already we can see it’s going to be a great asset for the business. Obviously, it has more capacity and reach but it is still really compact and highly manoeuvrable. I’ve always been impressed with Tadano product and the reliability that comes with it, and we are confident our new GR-200EX will be no different,” said Sam.