Customers of Africa’s lifting leader Johnson Crane Hire were recently treated to an impressive display of a selection of the company’s lifting equipment at an open day where its heavy lift fleet was likened to the ‘big five’ of the wild.

“Johnson Crane Hire is a home grown South African business, and like the big five we are firmly rooted in Africa,” Peter Yaman, sales executive at Johnson Crane Hire, says. “Just as the big five have adapted to their natural environment, so have we succeeded in adapting to our economic environment, which is not always easy.”

Yaman describes the company’s LR 750-ton crawler crane as the elephant in the fleet: “This is a brute of a crane, with the ability to lift over 100 African elephants at once – with each of these great beasts weighing five tons or more.”

Next in line is the LR 600 crawler crane, displaying the toughness of a buffalo. He notes that the buffalo is also the ultimate herd animal, reflecting the company’s focus on teamwork to get every job successfully and safely accomplished.

“The rhino is the creature that comes to mind when talking about our powerful Kobelco 400 ton crawler crane,” he says, “as they share the attributes of ruggedness, durability and stability.” At the same time, he notes, heavy lifting also requires speed, precision and agility – qualities that make the LTM 750 ton hydraulic mobile crane comparable to the leopard.

Last but certainly not least is Johnson Crane Hire’s LG 750 ton lattice boom crane, which Yaman compares to the lion – king of the Jungle and a force of nature and leadership.

“Leadership in safety and in lifting is what we are passionate about, being driven to attain ‘SMART’ lifting – through safety, maintenance, availability, reliability and total cost effectiveness – as our brand promise,” he says. “Of course, we also have our zebras and impalas in the form of our 20 ton and 30 ton cranes, as well as our access platforms.”

Ranked amongst the top crane hire companies in the world, Johnson Crane Hire operates the largest mobile crane fleet in Africa, with strategically located operations to ensure quick delivery and ongoing support to customers. Outside of South Africa, it is actively engaged in several African countries including Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Swaziland, Namibia and Zambia.