Benchley Adds Its First Tadano Crane to Fleet

From left: Jayden Hawkins, Benchley Crane; Mike Baron, Empire Crane; and Lukas and Andrew Benchley, Benchley Crane.

Sept. 14, 2022 - Benchley Contracting & Rental Corp. has added a Tadano GR-1000XLL-4 crane to its fleet.

The 100-USt rough-terrain crane is the first Tadano Benchley has ever owned.

The Forestville, New York, company was founded in 1957 with just a single crane, dragline, and dozer. Today it operates a large fleet of all-terrain, boom-truck, and rough-terrain cranes with capacities reaching 400 USt to serve customers in the Buffalo and western New York markets.

Benchley’s latest fleet addition, the Tadano GR-1000XLL-4 rough-terrain crane, is used primarily to expand the company’s offerings for long-term steel erection and windfarm work.

“We’ve heard good things about Tadano cranes, and the lift chart and extra boom length were selling points for us,” said Andrew Benchley, vice president of Benchley Cranes. “Its 100-USt capacity makes it the largest rough-terrain crane in our fleet.”

Benchley Crane’s GR-1000XLL-4, purchased from Empire Crane Company of N. Syracuse, New York, has a hydraulically telescoping maximum main boom length of 167.3’, the longest boom in the 100-USt class.

It also features 24,700 lbs. of self-removable counterweight to get the operator the best possible load chart and radius in the smallest package. “It also has the Tadano Smart Counterweight system, which gives us two mounting positions, one to reduce tail swing, which is helpful when working in tight sites,” added Benchley.

Tadano says that those features, plus offering the lowest cost of ownership for crane maintenance in the industry, combine to make the GR-1000XL Series Tadano’s most popular model in North America.

After Benchley Cranes took delivery of the new crane, Empire Crane conducted training, so the lifting company’s operators could get used to its many new features.

“Benchley Cranes‘ operators are some of the best in the industry and quickly picked up crane operation,” said Paul Lonergan, president of Empire Crane. “We have enjoyed a long relationship with the company, dating back to Andrew’s and my father’s working together on crane purchases and support more than 30 years ago.”

Benchley mentions the operators liked some of the crane’s creature comforts such as air conditioning and the cab’s ability to tilt, which makes it easier on the operator to see the load during a lift. He also appreciates the additional cameras on the crane and back-up sensors, which help to maneuver the crane into tight spots.

One of the biggest advantages for Benchley Cranes is the GR-1000XLL-4’s Smart Chart feature that helps to maximize the crane’s lift capacity, especially when the outriggers cannot be fully deployed. “It doesn’t rely on a 360° load chart,” said Benchley.

Tony Hampton, regional business manager – Northeast for Tadano, explains, “The system determines the crane’s lifting capacity for every boom position as a function of the superstructure’s slewing angle, so it makes use of the maximum available lifting capacity with any outrigger configuration, including asymmetrical positioning.”