This latest delivery into NSW rounds out the Australian market for this phenomenal crane - James Equipment has now supplied a Tadano GT-550E into every Australian state plus the Northern Territory.

The delivery to Botany Cranes in Sydney is a milestone in its own right. With stringent RTA registration requirements in NSW, the Tadano GT-550E hydraulic truck crane has come through with flying colours. With GPS on-board, the Tadano GT-550E can operate and travel on the roads 24 hours a day in Sydney.

According to John Medland, Managing Director and allocator for Botany Cranes, the purchase of the Tadano GT-550E is the perfect addition to the company's 20 crane fleet.

"We had demand for a 50/55 tonne hydraulic truck crane to slot in between our 30 tone truck crane and 55 tonne all-terrain," John Medland said.

"The demand in our market is for high work in the area of Sydney Airport, the docks and construction of the nearby chemical plant. The Tadano GT-550E is the perfect unit for our requirement."

Most importantly though, is the ability of Botany Cranes to now send a hydraulic truck crane out to jobs that were previously handled by an all-terrain crane.

"The Tadano GT-550E is cheaper to own and operate than a 55 tonne all-terrain crane. It is also a more appropriate unit to send on many of our jobs. With the new Tadano GT-550E in our fleet, we expect to deliver superior service to our customers at reduced charge out rates."

Peter Shelton of James Equipment states that the NSW regulations are unique and presented an interesting challenge.

"We are proud of the fact that the first Tadano GT-550E is the first 55 tonne hydraulic truck crane delivered into the Sydney market," Peter said.

"The Tadano GT-550E complies with maximum width and mass requirements, and now that we have registered the first of these units with Botany Cranes, we foresee exceptional opportunities ahead. NSW is a large crane market and we expect strong demand for a crane of this capacity."

The decision to purchase the Tadano crane from James Equipment sits comfortably with Botany Cranes.

"Our past experience with Tadano has been very good," said John Medland.

"We have found the Tadano brand to be reliable and proven in the tough Australian conditions, operator friendly and an extremely low cost machine to maintain and operate. The Japanese computers and hydraulics are very robust and reliable."

"When we researched the purchase of a new crane the decision was made very easily. We checked out all of the competitive brands and found that the Tadano specifications perfectly matched our needs. The new 'Euro 2' 6 cylinder turbo diesel makes the crane easy to drive and the new operating computers are simple to operate and very operator friendly."

"From the first time that we made contact with James Equipment, until the crane was delivered to our site, we have been very impressed with the knowledge and service of the people at James Equipment," John said.

"All through the purchase and delivery process they kept us fully informed and up to date."

"We see this purchase as being a long term acquisition and fully expect to keep the Tadano GT-550E in our fleet for 15 years, that's twice as long as an all-terrain crane."

The Tadano GT-550E hydraulic truck crane is arguably the finest crane in this category available in the world today. The GT 550E hydraulic truck crane has a boom extension from 11.1m to 42m and its maximum lifting capacity is 55t . The 2-staged extension type jib length extends from 9.0m to 14.6m while boom elevation from -20° to 80° is achieved in just 68 seconds.

The Nissan 4 axle carrier runs a powerful, yet economical 'Euro 2' 6 cylinder, 256kw (345 hp), water cooled, direct injection, turbo charged engine putting out 1460nm of torque. . The turning circle of the carrier is impressive and, when travelling long distances the top end speed of the 85 kph is a real plus for the Botany Cranes projects.

Customers who have purchased the GT-550E are reporting diesel savings between 15 to 20% against there normal running costs for a similar size machine. Given current high diesel price this is a huge saving to customers' running costs which equates to bottom line profit.

James Equipment is the exclusive Australian distributor of the award winning range of new Tadano Cranes, operating a network of support, sales and service offices in key locations, including the recently established Perth office.

Establishing a solid reputation over 15 years, James Equipment has a broad knowledge base of the local crane industry and a large network of international suppliers to draw upon. Serving the crane industry right across Australia, Melbourne-based James Equipment has an excellent range of used cranes in stock from international manufacturers including Demag, Kato, Liebherr, Kobelco, Grove etc.

For further information on this story contact:

John Medland
Managing Director
Botany Cranes
Ph (02) 9666 6366

or

Peter Shelton
Manager
James Equipment

Tel: 03 9369 6823
Fax: 03 9369 1777
Email: pshelton@jamesequipment.com.au
Web: www.jamesequipment.com.au