Mantis Cranes celebrate 25 Years in Business
After a year or so of market research, numerous trips to Italy and a lot of days thinking “will we or won’t we” in 1999, Mantis Cranes, known as Masol Ireland at the time, took a bold step and introduced the first self erecting tower crane to Ireland.
Having established a very well-respected engineering company, Mc Menamin Engineering, Managing Director Seamus Mc Menamin was looking to add a product line to the company that would both complement his existing business yet draw on the strengths of the company’s engineering expertise.
While on a business trip to France, he became aware of all the small cranes being used on construction sites, but it was some time thereafter when going through trade brochures on a visit to the Enterprise Ireland offices in Dublin that he came across a brochure from an Italian self erecting crane manufacturer. This caught his attention as he believed it could be the new product he was looking for.
An Italian manufacturer “Ma-Sol Gru” were looking for representation in Ireland. Self Erecting Cranes are ideally suited to small construction projects where space is restricted, similar to the cranes Seamus had seen in action in France. He knew that these cranes were used extensively in mainland Europe but not in Ireland and rarely in the UK.
After negotiating a deal with Ma-Sol in Italy and the formation of a joint venture, 1999 saw the first hydraulic self erecting crane enter the Irish market and trading began. Launching a new unknown product was going to be challenging so Seamus began visiting construction sites in prominent locations and offered some builders a month’s free trial to try this new alternative to mobile cranes and telehandlers. Indeed, every builder offered the trial took him up on it and all, but one kept the crane for the remaining duration of their projects.
And so it began, the first of its kind to be used in Ireland. In 1999, Masol Ireland began offering cranes for sale to the Irish construction market.
Initially importing complete models from Italy and later by availing of the skillset from Mc Menamin Engineering, Masol Ireland began manufacturing structural components for self erecting tower cranes in Donegal. The crane bases came from Italy but 70% of the structural components were manufactured in Killygordon, Co. Donegal. But that’s another story……….
Mantis Cranes are a leading crane hire company, and supply self-erecting tower cranes, tower cranes, luffing tower cranes, and construction hoists. We are established throughout the UK and Ireland. For information on hiring or buying cranes and crane attachments, email us on info@mantiscranes.co.uk or info@mantiscranes.ie or visit www.mantiscranesgroup.com
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