Dutch truck-mounted crane extends to a record 57 metres

Dutch crane truck specialist Martens Best has recently started operating its spectacular five-axle Scania R 500 with the biggest loader crane mounted on a truck in the Benelux – 57 metres. “Everywhere we go people are impressed,” says Managing Director and co-owner Chiel Martens.

The new Effer 2255 with 8-extension in the main boom and an 8-extension in the heavy duty flyjib is the Italian specialised manufacturer’s flagship product with a horizontal outreach of nearly 49 metres. In its maximum configuration, the crane reaches a height of 57 metres. At short length it can lift 30 tonnes, which when fully extended is reduced to 300 kilos. That is sufficient for the types of lifting assignments Martens often carry out.

“We especially use the superior height for lifting window frames and building panels,” explains Martens. “With our trucks we can perform jobs in places that are inaccessible to others.”

Business started with a cart
The transport company has eight crane trucks – three five-axle, three four-axle and two three-axle vehicles. Chiel’s grandfather, Jan, started the business in 1958. During mornings, he tended his farm and, in the afternoons, hitched a cart to his horse to transport goods for the farmer’s guild. The transport business took off with more customers and in 1965 he purchased an Opel Blitz with a two tonne payload.

A few years later, the first of Jan’s three sons Cees Martens, Chiel’s father, joined the company and subsequently his two other sons were also engaged. In the 1970s, Martens acquired its first Scania, which was used to collect milk from dairy farmers.