Lifting company deploys new crane for French hospital expansion

French lifting company AUTAA – which is a subsidiary of transport and logistics company Charles André Group (GCA) exceptional lifting and transport segment – announced, in a press release last month, that it is deploying its new Grove GMK6300L-1 all-terrain crane for the expansion of the Saint Camille hospital in Bry-sur-Marne.

The Grove 300 t GMK6300L-1 all-terrain crane builds on the success of its predecessor, the GMK6300L, offering better lift capacities on its 80 m boom and an optional extension of up to 37 m for a maximum tip height of 120 m.

Additionally, there is a flexible 26 t heavy roadable counterweight available with interchangeable slabs, for optimised logistic costs. With its Mercedes-Benz engine and fully automatic Allison transmission, it is a reliable and powerful addition to any crane fleet. 

“Those features are really important for the ground crew. I can’t wait to use the crane’s full 80 m boom to see how well it performs,” says skilled AUTAA crane operator Eduardo Catarino, who previously operated 130 t Grove GMK5130-2 and 150 t Grove GMK5150L cranes.

“We’re only using 41.9 m of boom and 74.5 t of counterweight for this job, so it’s well within the capacities of the GMK6300L-1. The crane operates extremely well, and the hoist and slewing are very precise,” he adds.

“Additionally, because the GMK6300L-1 has two engines, including a smaller one in the superstructure, noise levels were kept to a minimum. It’s a crane that checks all the boxes,” says GCA exceptional lifting and transport MD Eric Grimaldi.

Extension works at the Saint Camille Hospital – which includes an infrastructure extension built from 21 modules with the heaviest weighing 21 t – started with assembling prefabricated modules, shortly after the product was delivered to AUTAA and dispatched to the jobsite.

“We are very impressed with our new GMK6300L-1; the crane was compact enough to fit in the limited space on the jobsite, ensuring minimal disruption to hospital operations and allowing the ambulance traffic to continue uninterrupted throughout the work,” enthuses Grimaldi.