The new 50 tonne Tadano crane is based in Morwell, east Victoria and plays a key role in the companies’ Pre-Cast division, developing and transporting concrete product for the EastLink project.

The Thiess/John Holland partnership was formed specifically to tackle the huge engineering demands of the EastLink transport project. Thiess Pty Ltd is one of Australia’s largest engineering companies, while John Holland Pty Ltd is an industry leader in tunnel contracting and operations services.

The Morwell pre-cast development site is set on 12 hectares of varying terrain, a situation that demands all-terrain machinery to transport concrete materials from the manufacturing plant to the storage facilities. Handling and Dispatch Manager for Thiess/John Holland, Peter Jones, is impressed with the new arrival.

“We previously hired a Tadano crane in the past from Aitkin Cranes and were familiar with what the machines were capable of. Our 12 hectare site encompasses all sorts of terrain and we needed a vehicle that could well handle the off road terrain with heavy concrete loads,” said Peter Jones.
“Our previous Tadano experience has been excellent and the user friendly nature of the vehicle is a real plus, given the working conditions it will endure,” said Peter Jones.

The Tadano TR-500EX is a left-hand steer, 50 tonne rough-terrain crane designed specifically for heavy loads in off-road applications. The 35m fully extended, 4-section boom can rise from -1.5° to 80° in 68 seconds while the 2-staged jib spans from 9.8m to 17.1m.

For its 43 tonne mass, the TR-500EX is highly manoeuvrable with four-wheel drive and steering delivering a turning radius of 6.7m. The crane carrier engine produces 184kW and 705Nm of torque from a turbo-charged, 6 cylinder, direct injection diesel power plant.

Although Thiess/John Holland dealt with James Equipment for the first time in making this acquisition, Peter Jones was very happy with the Tadano transaction.

“Aitkin Cranes pointed us in the right direction and Brendan James at James Equipment helped us every step of the way. The service was excellent and our new Tadano all-terrain crane is already hard at work.”

Establishing a solid reputation over 15 years, James Equipment has a broad knowledge base of crane engineering 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, and Kobelco.

For further information on this story contact:

Brendan James
Managing Director, James Equipment
Tel (03) 9369 6823
Fax (03) 9369 1777
Email info@jamesequipment.com.au