Product of the Month – GML Compact counterbalance floor crane
In the lifting world, the margin of difference between success and failure can sometimes be measures in millimetres.
By which we mean, getting into a location to carry out a lift may be determined by a few millimetres of space.
That is why our Product of the Month for May is the GML Compact counterbalance floor crane, or GML-C as it is also known.
It is cleverly designed to be impressively compact. This has two sometimes critical advantages.
It can be moved through narrow and constrained openings (or, for example, transported in small lifts) into spaces where lifts need to be carried out.
Or, due to its size, it can be more easily moved around complex spaces, and positioned within them, to provide the safest and most productive lifting performance.
In both these terms, size counts, and Hird’s GML Compact delivers.
In some cases, without this counterbalance floor crane to hand, the alternative lifting solution could be more disruptive, be more costly and take longer.
Single doorway
The GML Compact is one of the latest machines in a range of counterbalance floor cranes manufactured by Wienold Lifte in Germany.
There are two versions, both available for hire from Hird.
The GML-C 800 is supplied with four counterweight boxes, which delivers a safe working load of 800kg.
The GML-C 600 has two counterweight boxes, which allows a SWL of 600kg.
Both versions can be used to lift loads to a maximum height of 6.95m.
Both, also, share the same dimensions.
Stowed for transport, the GML Compact is just 780mm wide, 1,890m high, and 1,310m long. This means it can be guided through a single doorway.
Manual or powered lifting
Once in position, both versions of the counterbalance floor crane can then be quickly configured for lifting.
At this point, the GML-C is still only 1,530m long and 900mm wide – or 1,310mm wide if its stabiliser arms are fitted.
Without the weight boxes in place, both versions of the counterbalance floor crane weigh 412kg.
Lifting is achieved with a manual winch or with a 3-step drill kit, and the crane’s maneuverability is enhanced with multi-directional castors.
Once the GML-C is in position, wheels are locked to create a firm and safe lifting platform.
Multiple lifting attachments
What really brings the GML-C into its own is the range of lifting attachments and accessories it can be combined with.
They include a crane boom, including an extendable crane boom, lifting forks and extendable forks, and a motorised crane boom for greater lifting precision.
These, in turn, can be used to hold other lifting attachments, including glass vacuum lifters and electric winches, making the crane ideal for a range of tasks, including steel erection and glass installation.
Hird has a wide range of glass vacuum lifters that can be used in conjunction with the GML-C counterbalance floor crane.
They include the Wood’s Powr-Grip MRT2, with its lifting capacity of 135kg and 1800 powered rotation.
Or, there is the Wirth Oktopus GL-RN-F 400, which has a lifting capacity up to 400kg, which has a short lift arm and extension arms. It also has a guide ring for glazing between scaffolding.
Meet the GML family
The GML Compact is just one of a range of Wienold counterbalance floor cranes in the Hird crane hire fleet.
Others include the Wienold SLK25, with a SWL of 300kg and a maximum lifting height of 7.9m.
Another even more compact counterbalance crane is the WLU KS, which can lift loads of 400kg, yet is just 750mm wide and 1060mm long.
At the other end of the scale is the GML800+.
Hird can supply it with 110v mains electric power or in a bi-energy version, which also has DC batteries – and can lift up to 800kg to a height of 7.94m.
Find out more
The GML Compact counterbalance floor crane, and all other versions, can be supplied by Hird across the UK .
We also provide LEEA-accredited counterbalance floor crane training for any of the counterbalance floor cranes, also available nationally.
Talk to Hird experts today about your lifting needs.
Email: [email protected]