Berry Cranes expands rental fleet – Böcker hands over AK 52 truck crane to long-standing customer

The British crane rental company Berry Cranes has established itself strongly in both the mobile crane and contract lift industry since 2000. In 2008, Berry Cranes invested in a Böcker crane for the first time. They received the first AK 32/1500 in Great Britain and immediately recognised the advantages of an alumnium lightweight crane for their own rental fleet. This was a turning point in the history of the company and set a trend for Böcker cranes in motion. As pioneers in Great Britain they brought the first AK 44/4000 into the country in 2010, followed by an AK 35/3000 in 2012, another AK 36/4000 in 2014 and an AK 46/6000 in 2016. It was therefore inevitable that Berry Cranes would receive the first AK 52 in the UK in 2019, which was finally handed over in January 2019. In early January 2020 the second AK 52 followed, this time on a 4-axle chassis. The big advantage of the 4-axle and for Berry Cranes the decisive reason for the purchase is that this new version of the AK 52 achieves the same ranges as the 3-axle with a smaller support width and thus requires considerably less space at the place of operation.

With a maximum payload of 12 t, an extended length of 52 m (opt. 55 m) and incredible ranges, the truck crane AK 52 sets new standards in the 26 t truck category as a 3-axle truck and in the 32 t truck category as a 4-axle truck. At a height of up to 31 m, it thus lifts 3 t to 17 m, and, thanks to its small swivel radius and the variable outriggers, it is flexible even when used in most confined spaces. The 14-m jib, which is fully hydraulically extendable via remote colour control, holds up to 1 t even in horizontal or extended position. Thanks to its formidable range up to 45 m, the powerhouse opens up a massive working area and demonstrates its strengths, for example when used for multi-storey buildings, industrial building, glass or facade construction.

Thanks to the easy-lock system, the crane can easily and quickly be converted to a cherry picker without any tools. When used as an access platform, the AK 52 stands out due to superior safety and precise control. Permanent monitoring of the load protects the platform from overloading. The access platform can be operated from inside the platform from two control stands, to ensure an optimal overview of the operating environment. The colour remote control with variable positioning facilitates delicate and secure working with all necessary user information being shown on the large colour display.

As an option, the crane can be equipped with the smart BöckerConnect customer portal. It provides crane owners with online and real time information on their vehicle fleet presenting all relevant data of the networked cranes at a glance. After the personal log-in the user obtains an overview of the current status and the location of his cranes. A detailed view provides the master data and the performance data of every crane. To consider and evaluate the use of the equipment in detail statistics on the patterns of use of the specific machines can be called up.

More about the AK 52 can be found here.