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A.W. Leil Cranes and Equipment
Following its December 2022 delivery to A.W. Leil Cranes and Equipment, a Grove GMK6400-1 has sparked a revival in fortune for the Dartmouth, Nova Scotia-based rental services provider. Due to fleet capacity constraints, the company had been excluded from many opportunities in its market — particularly in providing maintenance services to the dozens of wind turbines it had erected during the last wind construction boom in the early 2000s.
“Our largest crane was a 400 USt, which usually left us just shy of being able to service larger wind towers, so we recognized there was a need to upsize,” said Ryan Long, A.W. Leil’s president. “We were initially looking at 500- to 650-USt machines, but once we started doing comparisons, plotting out every tiny detail in a spreadsheet, the GMK6400-1 kept shining through.”
The 450-USt GMK6400-1 more than compensates for size with features such as the self-rigging MegaWingLift and MAXbase variable-position outriggers that support a lifting performance usually only seen on seven- or eight-axle cranes, Long noted as well.
For the handover of the Grove GMK6400-1 to A.W. Leil, local dealer Shawmut Equipment of Canada, Inc. provided operator and technician training. The crane then immediately headed out to its first wind farm project on Prince Edward Island, and it hasn’t stopped working long enough to return to its Dartmouth base ever since.
Given the sparsely distributed population of the region and the scarcity of long-term projects, A.W. Leil’s cranes invariably cover far more ground. For Long, that makes the GMK6400-1’s road-legal status highly appreciated.
“Taxi work is crucial for us, so the icing on the cake is that we can just head straight out, trailing a boom dolly behind,” Long added. “Other machines in the region have to spend extra time and work on permits, trucks, and boom launching before every single mobilization. In the end, that’s added cost to the customer. The GMK6400-1’s easy roading really has been a major turning point for us.”
We’re not a huge company,” Long concluded, “but our new Grove AT helps us punch above our weight and tells the market we’re ready to take on any challenge.”
W. O. Grubb Crane Rental
W. O. Grubb Crane Rental, a North Chesterfield, Virginia, family-owned provider of bare and operated crane rental services in the Mid-Atlantic states, is now fielding six Link-Belt 210-USt and one 175-USt AT cranes. For Doug Adkins, director of fleet operations, one of the biggest benefits of these models is their roadability. “These machines are easy to move to jobsites, especially on the east coast,” he said. “They can be configured to meet some of the toughest transportation laws.”
For example, Adkins noted that the 210-USt Link-Belt AT can travel in Virginia with the boom in the rack and not require a boom dolly, and it can travel with the jib on in that state and in Maryland. With its modular counterweight designed for maximizing transport efficiency, he added, the crane can move fully dressed to jobsites with just two overflow loads and its outrigger pontoons are easily secured for transport.
“All of those things are a plus for a 210-USt machine and on jobsites the Link-Belt AT is easy and quick to move around, and assemble and disassemble,” Adkins related. “The self-erecting capabilities of the 210-USt Link-Belt AT is a big advantage when there’s not a lot of room, for example when we’re doing maintenance work on cell tower sites or when we’re lifting AC units, and we really like them for assembling and disassembling large crawler cranes.”
W.O. Grubb operators give the Link-Belt AT high marks, Adkins reported. They are especially pleased with the crane’s user-friendly systems, including comprehensive charts, and their comfortable cab with a pull-out CabWalk for easy access.
“We’ve had few issues with the Link-Belt ATs as they have been very dependable,” Adkins said. “Their greaseless boom saves time and reduces wear, and with large removable engine hood doors servicing these units is much easier.”
Seth Skydel is a writer with 38 years of experience covering the trucking, utility, construction, and related markets.
