MHW Magazine News and stories from the Materials Handling Industry
West London ‘heavy side’ merchant George Lines has become the first customer to take delivery of an HMF hydraulic truck loader fitted and supplied by the Danish manufacturer’s new dealer South East Cranes.
The 17-tonne/metre HMF 1720-K2 is mounted on a 32-tonne Volvo FM chassis and is the subject of a rolling contract hire deal with South East Cranes’ sister company BR Saunders (Transport).
HMF is renowned for the high quality and durability of its products, as well as for its leadership in the all-important field of safety. George Lines’ new crane is equipped with the user-friendly RCL 5300 Safety System, which prevents overloading and thus protects both the crane and operator.
Based in Colnbrook, near Slough, George Lines has been supplying civil engineering groundwork products such as kerbing, paving, gullies, manhole rings and associated castings for more than 50 years.
The new truck is the company’s first eight-wheeler for many years, and is being used to make deliveries to civil engineering and local authority sites.
The 1720-K2 – the ‘2’ denotes the fact that it has two hydraulic extensions – has a maximum reach of 8.3 metres and is fitted with a Fielden brick and block grab.
"It’s the biggest crane we’ve ever operated and offers impressive lift and reach capabilities," says Transport Manager Eric Russell. "These are still early days, of course, but it also looks exceptionally strong and well-built, and is very nicely finished too."
The new crane benefits from HMF’s remarkable EQC (Environmentally-friendly Quality Coating). Applied in a purpose-built, £12-million plant opened last year at the company’s headquarters in Højberg, this advanced treatment provides a good-looking, hard-wearing surface able to withstand years of arduous use without flaking or rusting.
HMF (UK) recently embarked on a major drive to increase its share of the domestic market for truck-mounted cranes. The appointment of a network of dealers is key to this strategy and South East Cranes, of Walton on Thames, Surrey, was one of the first to sign-up.
The family-run business was founded in 2004 although BR Saunders (Transport), which runs its own fleet of 30 trucks with hydraulic loaders, has been trading since 1952.
South East Cranes’ Sales & Marketing Manager Simon Godley says: "This is the third vehicle we have supplied to George Lines in the last 12 months, and the customer was happy to accept our recommendation that on this occasion we fit an HMF loader.
"HMF is a premium brand producing top quality products which really look the part. So we are very enthusiastic about and committed to this new relationship, not least because the support we’ve had from HMF (UK)’s headquarters in Peterborough has been first class."
