Meijmat buys first Grove five-axle crane for fleet

Meijmat has bought a Grove GMK5120L all-terrain crane for its fleet, the Dutch rental company's first Grove five-axle crane.

The crane will be used mainly to assemble and dismantle crawler cranes, while also supporting building and construction work that requires flexibility and efficient transport.

The investment is part of the Alphen aan den Rijn-based company's fleet modernisation programme. Meijmat operates 15 cranes and said the addition broadens the range of lifting jobs it can cover with a single machine.

Meijmat chose the GMK5120L for its position in the light five-axle crane segment, as well as its transport and lifting characteristics. The model has a 66-metre main boom and is designed to move between sites with limited setup time.

The crane is intended for a mix of applications, from crawler crane projects to general construction work. This reflects demand in the Dutch rental market for machines that can handle site access constraints while still offering enough reach for varied lifts.

Service support

Local support also played a role in the decision. Meijmat cited backing from Manitowoc's service team in Breda, alongside the Grove CONNECT telematics platform.

The company has activated Grove CONNECT on the new crane. The system gives users remote access to machine data and can support technical assistance, servicing and maintenance planning.

Meijmat said those functions were relevant to the purchase because they can help monitor the crane during demanding lifting work and reduce maintenance-related disruption.

"The GMK5120L fits our requirements perfectly. It combines strong performance with flexibility and efficiency. We have been particularly impressed with the excellent support we've received from the Manitowoc service team in Breda and the capabilities of the Grove CONNECT telematics system," said Willem van der Meijden, Director, Meijmat.

Operator feedback also influenced the company's view of the supplier. Meijmat said its crane operators had a positive experience with Manitowoc's customer support team, citing close cooperation, quick response times and practical support.

Fleet renewal

The order gives Meijmat its first Grove machine at a time when crane owners across Europe are reviewing fleet age, operating costs and machine utilisation. Multi-purpose all-terrain cranes remain a common choice for rental firms because they can move between infrastructure, industrial and commercial building work without the transport demands of larger specialist equipment.

For Meijmat, the GMK5120L is expected to balance compact transport arrangements with enough lifting strength and boom length for crawler crane assembly work. These jobs often require repeated moves, short setup windows and dependable service access on tight project schedules.

Manitowoc said the crane's taxi configurations and load charts were among the factors behind the purchase. In practical terms, Meijmat expects the crane to serve a wide range of sites while keeping transportability in line with the operational demands of rental work.

The purchase also underlines how telematics systems have moved from optional add-ons to a more central part of equipment procurement. Fleet owners increasingly use remote machine data for maintenance planning, fault tracking and support coordination, especially when a machine is expected to work across multiple project types.

Meijmat said the combination of local service support and connected fleet data strengthened its confidence in adding the crane, describing the move as a strategic step in modernising its lifting fleet.