Speedy Services finally found the new 10 tonne pick and carry crane at Italian firm Ormig and it was delivered by Ormig's UK distributor Crowland Cranes direct to Speedy's engineering customer in Scotland.

Davey Walker, Speedy's area manager, picks up the story: "We had an enquiry from one of our blue chip customers for a crane with a very specific footprint, and so began a worldwide search.

"We found one in America, but unfortunately it didn't meet EEC standards. Then Crowland Cranes came to the rescue - but that was only half of the story! Once we'd found it, we had to prove to the customer that it could do the job of the specific footprint."

Davey arranged for the Helensburgh customer to trial a crane over Christmas, putting it through its paces. By the time they confirmed it was exactly what they wanted - and more - the race was on to get the brand new crane on site by March 31.

He said: "Peter Issitt, from Crowland Cranes, travelled to Italy and picked up the crane on his low loader. He then drove up to Scotland, delivered it, picked up the one on trial and brought it back.

"We had serious deadlines to meet which we beat with time to spare. Both the customer and Speedy were delighted with the whole process and with the product."
Speedy also carried out a full operator and engineer familiarisation training for a team of more than 20 operators. The whole process, from the first inquiry to the completion of training took five months.