CJ Trading is the only supplier of Mantis self-erecting cranes in the southwest of England. Based in Liskeard, the company offers its services across an area from Southampton in the east and Bristol in the north to Lands End. These cranes can be either hired or purchased and include self-erecting and tower cranes with jib lengths up to 45m in heights ranging from 18m to 32m and with lifting capacities of 1-6 tonnes.
According to sales director Eric Candy, “We are probably the only supplier of these cranes that is actually based in the southwest. We offer a full service from hire, delivery to site, erection, servicing, dismantling and recovery.
A key part of our service is to supply our customers with a complete package, which includes a full training service as well as a range of other attachments. Our cranes are used throughout the construction industry on everything from private houses to a multi-million pound student accommodation blocks but one of our more unusual jobs was for a theatre company where we had to attach a man cage and swing it around as part of their performances at sites in Plymouth and Newcastle-upon-Tyne!”
A very different job was at this year’s Americas Cup, which was held off Plymouth Hoe. The company had to supply and erect a crane that was then hired under CPA self drive terms to erect the multi-million pound yachts, lifting the hulls in and out of the water and lifting the masts and rigging into place before and during the F1 style sailing races.
Eric says, “We supplied the crane through Westcountry Crane Hire to the Americas Cup Race Management Team and they used it to erect all of the boats and to lift them in and out of the water. It was great for us because this was televised all over the world, including the USA, New Zealand, Sweden, China and Korea.
Interestingly enough, on the first Sunday of racing people were playing bowls on Plymouth Hoe while the boats were racing – Drake would have been more than impressed!”
For further information please telephone 01503 265652 or visit www.cjtowercranes.com
