KELVIN GALLEN IS UNAPOLOGETICALLY PASSIONATE ABOUT LIFTING EQUIPMENT AND HIS IMPRESSIVE FLEET OF TRUCK-MOUNTED CRANES IS ENOUGH TO RAISE ANYONE'S SPIRITS – AS WELL AS SOME VERY CHALLENGING LOADS. HEAVYTORQUE PAYS HIM A VISIT.
Over 25 years ago, Kelvin Gallen decided to quit his job driving a truck with a crane for a Dublin-based operator and set up on his own. He had been with his previous employer for a while and had become fascinated with truck-mounted cranes and just what could be done with them. Like many, however, he felt that he could do better working for himself. He had already built up quite a bit of experience and made several useful contacts, so he bought his first crane truck, a used Scania P93 230 with a Cormach 16.5 crane.
These days, Kelvin runs one of the most impressive lifting, transport and installation operations anywhere, with a fleet of trucks, cranes and other specialist equipment to equal any other.
Kelvin works with his wife Fiona, daughter Emily, sons Shane and Bradley, and a dedicated team of skilled staff, all of whom share the same enthusiasm and passion for cranes and other high specification equipment. Almost all of the Gallen Crane fleet is painted a vivid shade of orange, and all of the vehicles are beautifully presented, as well as being very carefully specified. The firm’s depot at Allenwood, Naas, in County Kildare is equally immaculate, and it is here that Kelvin tells us more about his operation.
“We started with a Scania 4-wheeler and a relatively small crane,” he says. “It was a radically different market then and a lot of people thought they were only really truck-mounted lorry loaders. There were very few high-capacity cranes and most people assumed they’d have to hire a mobile crane for anything other than a straightforward lift. It took a while to get the message across, but once we bought our first high-capacity crane in 1999, customers began to realise that there were real advantages in using a truck-mounted crane, particularly in restricted areas. It was a 6×2 tag axle Scania with a 52 tonne/metre crane with a fly jib – quite a big machine back then – and I picked up quite a lot of work with it as word got about.
BOTH INTERNAL COMBUSTION AND ELECTRIC POWER ARE MOVING FORWARD FAST AT VOLVO, AS A RECENT EVENT IN GOTHENBURG DEMONSTRATED.
Volvo Trucks recently launched two all-new 13-litre engines, one diesel and the other gas-powered, and has promised to introduce a hydrogen-powered version of this design before 2030. At a launch event in Gothenburg, it also showcased its latest battery-electric vehicles (BEVs), offering greatly extended ranges and higher gross vehicle weights than previous BEVs. The truck maker also said that hydrogen fuel cell versions were undergoing testing and would be launched in 2030.
The new D13 engine replaces the current 13-litre Volvo unit fitted to the FH, FM and FMX models and the 11-litre engine in the FM and FMX ranges. While Volvo is investing heavily in battery-electric and hydrogen fuel cell drivelines, the introduction of the new diesel and gas-powered range shows that it believes internal combustion engines will remain at large for decades to come.
The outgoing D13, in single turbocharger and turbo-compound form, has earned a reputation for good fuel consumption, particularly when combined with the wind-cheating FH Aero cab range. The aerodynamic cab design, launched in early 2024, has proven a success in most markets with over 68,000 sold in just over two years.
Volvo claims the new 13-litre lump will give a 4% improvement in fuel consumption, on top of the 5% improvement the Aero cab produces over the existing FH cab, making it its most fuel-efficient engine ever. It is also ready to meet or exceed the forthcoming EU noise level requirements and Euro-7 emission limits.
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HEAVY CRANE SPECIALIST GLOBAL CRANE SERVICES HAS INVESTED IN FOUR NEW SCANIA XT 770S 8x4s TO HELP POSITION ITS HEAVIEST MOBILE CRANES WHEREVER THEY ARE NEEDED BY THE RENEWABLE ENERGY SECTOR AND OTHER CUSTOMERS.
The north-east of Scotland has been heavily associated with energy and power generation since oil and gas were first extracted in large volumes from the North Sea in the 1970s, creating healthy demand across subsequent decades for specialist heavy transport and lifting services. And that, in turn, encouraged considerable development in transport and crane technology – not least in heavy mobile cranes and hydraulic modular trailers.
While the oil and gas sector has been in decline in recent years, rapid developments in wind and solar energy have led to continued demand for heavy lifting and transport in the area. This has created fresh challenges for specialist crane and haulage companies and given rise to the development of new techniques for lifting and moving wind turbine blades, hubs, nacelles and other components, especially given the steep hills, country lanes and even mountainsides that need to be negotiated to reach some rural wind farm sites.
Apart from setting up and maintaining such sites, another challenge in the renewables sector has been to establish the distribution grid required to transmit the power produced to population centres and industry, reversing the traditional energy network model of having power stations on the coast or near centres of coal and gas production. Such new distribution networks require high-capacity transformers and other heavy equipment to be taken to rural locations, again requiring the services of heavy transport, lifting and installation specialists.
MAC’S TRUCK SALES HAS BEEN POWERING AHEAD OVER THE PAST DECADE, ACHIEVING AN IMPRESSIVE EIGHTFOLD RISE IN TURNOVER AND EXPANDING ITS SERVICES BEYOND SIMPLE TRUCK SALES TO VEHICLE RENTAL, BODYBUILDING AND CRANE EQUIPMENT.
For operators in the construction sector, using cranes is part of everyday life. Many look to use cranes, especially the larger ones, across a 360-degree field and to do this typically requires legs that go over the front of a cab. But a perennial problem is that usual solutions are not aerodynamic and add increased length to the vehicle.
The team at Mac’s Truck Sales has regularly encountered this problem and decided to do something about it. And after 18 months of engineering, testing and production by Mac’s Truck Sales’ in-house design team, a system has been produced for the DAF XG, XF and XD and Volvo FH Aero that solves the problem.
“We’ve worked directly with the manufacturers to create the patented design,” says Lewis Ramsden, marketing manager at Mac’s Truck Sales. “Essentially, now, the front legs can go behind the front grille of those trucks. DAF and Volvo have spent so much on making these trucks more aerodynamic and it defeats the object to put a massive block in front of them that destroys their aerodynamic benefits. “With prices being what they are now, it’s more important than ever that the fuel efficiency is maintained, and this solution does that,” he adds. “The design has been patented in the UK and Europe by Mac’s and it’s not just aerodynamic; it looks better as well, as it’s tidy. On-site, too, it is practical as there is no big box sticking out over the front, so from a safety point of view, it’s something less to knock.”
Not all makes and models can be fitted with the system, however, as some don’t have room behind their grilles to put the legs.
The patented system was developed by Mac’s Truck Sales’ technical director, Andy Hall. “He says that if you’re not moving forwards, you’re standing still,” says Lewis. “There’s innovation happening here all the time, with several R&D projects going on at any one time.”
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GAINING THE RIGHT KNOWLEDGE AND REPUTATION TO BECOME ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL OPERATORS IN THE HEAVY HAULAGE SECTOR TAKES TIME, AS A RECENT VISIT TO IRISH FIRM AYLWARD HEAVY HAULAGE APTLY UNDERLINED TO HEAVYTORQUE.
Making a move into the heavy end of the specialist transport market is a major step, given the huge investment and operational complexities involved. And anyone trying to do so will need a good record of working at lighter weights to be taken seriously, along with an ability to add lifting and installation to the services they offer. Typically, it’s something that can only be achieved over a long period and in small steps. And that has certainly been the case at Ireland-based Aylward Heavy Haulage, where the process began in 1981 when founder PJ Aylward started as an owner-driver working in Ireland, the UK and mainland Europe with the support of his wife Marian, out of a base near Durrow in County Laois on the N77, roughly halfway between Dublin and Cork.
In the early 1990s, they invested in a stepframe trailer to move forestry equipment and machinery for a local branch of the state forestry body, gaining a reputation for reliability and for dealing with any problems that arose in those remote forest locations. This side of the business soon expanded as they were asked to move other plant and machinery and other types of oversized loads for a growing customer base.
In 1995 the decision was taken to drop general haulage in favour of heavy transport and by this point, the next generation was becoming increasingly involved in the business, with daughter Siobhan and her four brothers Paul, Padraig, Brian and Marc all working in it.
Three decades on, they are all directors and Aylward Heavy Haulage is one of the leading Irish heavy haulage service providers, with a wide range of specialist services including lifting and installation work.
ITALIAN HEAVY TRANSPORT AND ENGINEERING SPECIALIST FAGIOLI IS DESTINED TO BECOME MUCH MORE WIDELY KNOWN IN THE UK AFTER ITS RECENT TIE-UP WITH NOTUS CONTRACT LIFTING.
Many in the UK will be unaware of the operational scope and capability of Italian-based Fagioli Group, despite it providing a wide range of heavy lift, specialist transport and associated services, operating throughout the world, and carrying out some of the most challenging projects possible.
Its services include almost every aspect of heavy transport, lifting, jacking, skidding, specialist installation and engineering, both on land and water. And two simple statistics hint at the scale of the Fagioli operation: the total number of self-propelled modular transporter (SPMT) axle lines in its fleet is over 2,000; and the upper weight limit for its jacking and skidding systems is currently 64,000 tonnes.
Fagioli started out as a family transport business in 1955, when founder Giovanni Fagioli began with just one truck in routine road transport, growing and gradually diversifying into heavier work. The driving force for the expansion into combined heavy transport, lifting, installation and specialist engineering was Alessandro Fagioli, who turned the company into a worldwide service and project management provider with a strong emphasis on extra-heavy transport and lifting.
Since his death in 2020, the company has continued to progress and uphold the high standards set by its founders.
Since March 31, 2026, the Fagioli Group has been a part of CEVA Logistics, the fourth-largest third-party logistics company. The project logistics division within CEVA Logistics, now reinforced by the presence of Fagioli, works with various partners around the world on major projects, which obviously increases available resources and avoids having to ship its own equipment over huge distances before a project can get underway.
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