The company said it expected its latest Tadano addition to help maintain and support clients on infrastructure and mining projects. LCR Lindores Group purchased its first Tadano GT-550EX in 2006, and the performance of its ever increasing GT-550EX hydraulic truck crane fleet made the decision for an eighth model quite straightforward, according to LCR Lindores general manager for mobile cranes and transport Len Gillespie.“Training our operators is made easier by keeping the same line of plant,” Gillespie said. “One of the important safety features of the Tadano GT-550EX is the low deck height and the raised counterweight above the deck. In other crane models we find this to be a high-risk area for crushing in the slew operation.”LCR Lindores said its GT-550EX fleet had been working on projects ranging from shutdown work in petro-chemical plants and assembling mining equipment to working on projects in the desert and lifting building materials in city centres. Gillespie said that given the workload requirements of the cranes, their reliability had been excellent.“They are less expensive than the all terrain cranes to run on long-distance work where we are required to travel from 200 to 1200 kilometres to carry out a lift, then turn around and travel back again,” Gillespie said. “Providing the product doesn’t come under too much change, we will be purchasing more Tadano cranes in the future.”The 55-tonne crane is powered by a 250kW, six-cylinder, turbocharged, direct injection Nissan diesel engine and can reach speeds of up to 83km per hour. LCR Lindores was purchased by Sydney-based Champ Private Equity in September, and since then has diversified into mining, haulage and other services.
