New Kobelco For MAX Services

From Cranes and Lifting

MAX Services recently took delivery of a Kobelco CKS2500, a 250t capacity hydraulic lattice boom crawler. MAX Services’ Chief Operating Officer Pete Koschel provides the background to the latest addition to the fleet.

“A few months ago, we were examining our fleet and we could see an opportunity to add another crawler.

It wasn’t going to be a purchase for a specific project and, as timing would have it, Anthony Davis from The Crane Connection reached out, saying he had a couple of slots available with Kobelco for delivery later in the year and would we be interested in having a look at one? That conversation started the process,” said Pete.

“We looked at our pipeline of projects and we could see a whole range of opportunities coming up across the various different industry sectors including oil and gas, mining and infrastructure. We have three crawlers in the business, a 75t, 150t and 350t and we thought a 250t class crawler would be a real workhorse. It’s easy to mobilise and de-mobilise and it provides us with a lot of opportunities across a broad range of work, both in wet hire and dry hire,” he said.

The decision to purchase of the Kobelco came down to the strength of the relationship MAX Services has with The Crane Connection. said Pete.

“We were only considering a couple of brands, but Anthony was on the front foot, and we have a long-standing relationship with him and Ben and his father Gerhard. Mark Kuhn, Managing Director at MAX Cranes, has been mates with Anthony and I’ve known him for many years. Anthony is super respected throughout the industry and when all of this came together, it felt as though we were buying the crane from family,” said Pete.

“In my opinion, integrity in business is earned over many years, and Anthony, Ben and the team at The Crane Connection have it in spades. MAX Services has really strong values around working safely with our customers and our employees, having the right attitude at all times - integrity and respect. Anthony aligns with all of these values almost unconsciously,” he said.

“We purchased the Kobelco CKS2500 due to its versatility and simplicity making it a great option for general construction works and also barge operations if required. Also, its breakdown and component sizes and weights make it very cost-effective and simple for transport from site to site,” said Pete.

MAX Services purchased the Kobelco CKS2500 due to its versatility and simplicity - which he said made it a great option for general construction works and also barge operations if required.

The CKS2500 has a maximum lifting capacity of 250 tonnes and a maximum boom length of 91.4m plus 30.5 metres of fly. This model is part of the S series from Kobelco, which consists of crawler cranes with lifting capacities ranging from 80t to 550t. The S series is designed, upgraded and improved from the customer’s point of view with safety, reliability and efficient operations in mind.

The design of the CKS2500 is based on end-user feedback and real job site experiences. The design makes the model “transportation friendly,” “assembly friendly” and “operator friendly.” Each are essential to fulfill the satisfaction of owners and operators.

The features of Kobelco’s S Series are consistent with these key concepts.

The S Series comes with a variety of optional safety support devices, including a counterweight amount detection device that always tells the correct amount of the counterweight.  A swing angle detection device prevents over-swinging, while ground-level sensors prevent operations on uneven ground. Machine status is displayed on a new wide monitor in a luxurious operator cabin designed to enhance comfortable operation.

The models have an improved counterweight self-installation mechanism. Counterweights can be stacked up on the ground and installed on the machine by vertical cylinders. Safety and work efficiency have been greatly improved. (*Counterweights of 80t and 90t are optional specifications.)

The models can also be adapted for both bucket and lifting applications. The hydraulic circuit can be set to dual-pump flow or single-pump flow so that the circuit can be perfectly adequate for both applications. The newly designed circuit can be switched to choose the best circuit for the job application.

MAX Services already operates a fleet of support vehicles to manage the mobilisation and de-mobilisation of the new Kobelco, says Pete.

“We don’t need to add anything to our fleet to manage the transportation of the Kobelco. We already have the low loaders in our fleet to move the car body and then the rest comes down to just trailer fleet. The Kobelco CKS2500 is set up and ready for some other mods if we need it, but for MAX Services, at this stage it is a ‘toe in the water’ into that mid-class crawler range. “The new crane will be a great addition to our crawler fleet and improve our overall capacity and ability to deliver a comprehensive lifting solution to our customer”, said Pete.

“The new Kobelco slots nicely into the fleet and fills a gap in our capabilities. The Kobelco features traditional Japanese engineering and manufacturing qualities which leads to a robust machine capable of managing the harsh environments it is likely to be working in.

“We also purchased the crane with the confidence of the support we will receive from The Crane Connection and also TRT in terms of service and spare parts availability. The Kobelco CKS2500 is going to be a good fit for MAX Services,” said Pete.