Dutch prefab specialist buys first Grove crane and immediately sets it to work

• VDL De Meeuw, a prefab specialist construction company in the Netherlands, received its first Grove crane in March 2023.

Dutch modular construction company VDL De Meeuw received its first Grove crane, a GMK5120L, last year. The all-terrain crane was put to work on seven residential buildings, comprising 500 apartments, in NDW21, a growing area in the city of Nijmegen. 

The municipality of Nijmegen and housing associations Portaal, SSH&, Talis, and Woonwaarts are collaborating on the development, and VDL De Meeuw and Heijmans are handling construction. The timeline is tight given local pressure to alleviate the housing shortage, and 3,200 candidates have already applied for the first 65 homes.

For the construction process, VDL De Meeuw produces industrially manufactured modules at its factory in Oirschot which are then transported to the project site in NDW21. Here the GMK5120L must work fast to lift them into position. For the whole development, there are approximately 1,500 modules, with each measuring 7.5 x 3.3 m and weighing between 7 t and 12 t. To place them, the GMK5120L is configured with a main boom of 39.1 m and 30.7 t of counterweight. In this configuration, the crane can lift 12 t to a radius of 22 m. In addition to placing the modules, the crane is also used to install staircases and other items inside the developments.

“Our new Grove GMK5120L completes the work as a one-man machine. We don’t need to send any additional counterweight or equipment by truck. It’s a unique package and is helping us complete the work in the most effective way possible,” said Oscar van Sambeek, team lead of transport at VDL De Meeuw.

The 120 t capacity Grove GMK5120L offers long reach with its 66 m main boom and outstanding taxi crane capabilities, carrying up to 14.6 t counterweight in a 12 t per axle configuration or 3.1 t of counterweight in a 10 t per axle configuration. These taxiing capabilities deliver greater flexibility and lower transportation costs, and the crane is designed to easily adapt to 10 t, 12 t, or 16.5 t per axle allowances, enabling users to select the best set-up for the job.

“We’re very excited to have a new Grove customer on board,” said Niek Brabers, Grove sales manager at Manitowoc Netherlands. “The GMK5120L is perfect for this fast schedule housing project. We’re looking forward to seeing the results.”

VDL De Meeuw is a prefabricated construction specialist with 50 years of experience in temporary and permanent buildings. With over 400 employees, it specializes in sustainable, flexible, and modular housing in areas like healthcare, education, and business as well as dwellings.