UK rental company Ken Harrop Crane Hire has entered the spider crane market with a new 2.98 tonne Maeda MK3053-C, from local distributor Kranlyft.
The MK3053-C features a five section main boom with a three section telescopic jib for a maximum tip height of 16.95 metres, at which point it can handle 610kg, which it can take it out to the maximum radius of 14.5 metres.
Jack Harrop, Ken’s son, decided to take advantage of Kranlyft’s ‘Try Before You Buy’ offer and had the crane for a couple of weeks before deciding that it would be a perfect addition to the fleet. The company is already a Kranlyft customer, having purchased Klaas aluminium truck cranes from the company. Starting with a three axle five tonne K950PHX, which proved popular with its customers to the point that it added a six tonne Klaas K1100RHX. It is hoping that its new spider lift will prove as popular.
Speaking of the new crane Harrop said: “What we liked about this crane is that it can be transported on a trailer and towed by a 4 x 4 when needed, has a fantastic build quality and is very simple to use which has time saving and simple to use features such as self-set up mode, can be levelled up with one lever and has a self-stow mode, also with one lever. Also, the jib can be removed without tools. We were so impressed with it that we decided to buy it, rather than return it to Kranlyft.
Ken Harrop Crane hire is based in Warrington, near Manchester. It was established in the early 1990s when self-employed electrician Ken Harrop attended a local equipment auction to buy a new generator. The generators were not in great shape, so he did not make a bid, as fate would have it, the next item on the block was a mobile crane. On a whim, he placed a bid and purchased the crane, with the initial idea to sell it on. But the more he looked into it, the more he saw a new opportunity, so he decided to set up his own crane company.
As word spread, so did the business, with more cranes added and operators recruited and trained. The company now works across Cheshire, Wigan, Northwich, Liverpool, Manchester and has plans to go further. The fleet includes All Terrains, City cranes, truck mounts and no spider cranes. It also offers full contract lifting service, as well as machinery movement, haulage, storage, and traffic management.
Jack Harrop said: “As we have grown, we have never lost what makes us different — our family feel, our straight talking honesty, and the personal pride we take in every lift.”
