Jesper Mortensen from the Danish company Bent Mortensen A/S is a 5th generation haulier and a crane enthusiast with a capital E. For him, a crane is not only an important piece of equipment in his business - it is also the public face of his company. So, when Jesper needed a new loader crane truck, the details mattered. He wanted the truck to have a lot of smart gadgets and gear. The crane was to be the biggest and strongest and with all the best features. And, it goes without saying that he wanted it to be painted in the company's distinctive red and yellow colours. In Aarhus, Denmark, the newly painted marvel is ready to get to work.
Haulier through 5 generations
"I just needed a summer job with my dad. Now I'm 41 and own 61% of the company."
That’s the short version of how Jesper Mortensen became - almost coincidentally - the 5th generation of drivers and co-owners of the Bent Mortensen A/S haulage contractor.
The name, Bent Mortensen, was Jesper's great-grandfather's, but it was actually his great-great-grandfather who started the haulage business way back in 1929. Today, Jesper and his father, Per, run the family business, and many things have changed in the haulage industry since then.
"Back in 1929, my great-grandfather drove a horse carriage, so it was a completely different kind of company back then. In my grandfather's day, they only used manual cranes, and my father was one of the first to operate a crane with a remote control," Jesper explains the technical developments in our industry.
With over 90 years of experience, it goes without saying that company Bent Mortensen A/S knows its stuff. Today, the haulage contractor has 12 employees who operate the company's ten craned trucks and two mobile cranes, which, according to Jesper, "never stand still". With these vehicles, the company helps small and large customers with all kinds of transport and lifting tasks.
Over the years, Bent Mortensen A/S has used many different types of cranes, and even today the fleet consists of HMF, Palfinger, Hiab, and Effer cranes. "As long as it's the best crane for the job", Jesper is satisfied. Today, 3 of the company's crane trucks are equipped with HMF cranes.
"I got acquainted with HMF cranes already from childhood. The first one I remember is probably my grandfather's 2700 with manual control, and my own first large crane was an HMF 8520. I really loved that crane."
That's why Jesper thought of HMF when the company needed a new large range crane.
Attention to detail
And so Jesper chose a 95 tonne-metre heavyweight crane: the HMF 9520K. And the crane was not to be short of anything! Jesper is a man who pays attention to detail and happily pays extra to ensure that his crane truck is 100% functional and looks awesome.
"I just like the feeling of knowing that every detail is thought of. It also gives a distinctive first impression when your truck is jazzed up a bit," he says while proudly showing how his hooks hang neatly and colour-coordinated in a row in the toolbox.
The new Scania truck and HMF crane have thus been jazzed up with everything imaginable. The crane has 7 extensions, a fly-jib 2200-K6, a hoist, and features such as AutoSwitch, limitation of working area - horizontal (LWH) and Cabin Anti-Crash (CAC). On the truck itself, lights are installed in the front sign – Both in the Scania- and the company logo -, and along the side of the truck it says "HMF" when the lights come on.
"Gear is important, but it comes second to functionality," says Jesper.
That's why the truck is also equipped with gadgets that make everyday work a little easier. For example, Jesper has got the load hooks placed between the 3rd and 4th axle, so you don't have to climb up the truck body to get them. Similarly, the ladder is placed so it is easy to get a hold of. It's the small details like that, Jesper loves – details that make work a little easier.
When asked why he chose an HMF 9520K loader crane this time, Jesper replies:
"For us it's important to get as much space on the truck body as possible. At this point HMF wins every time! It just takes up less space and weighs less than other cranes, and I can still reach almost as far. This means that I can still have materials on the truck body, even when I'm working with a large crane," Jesper says enthusiastically, and continues:
"HMF cranes also work noticeably faster than other cranes. The 2820 that we have, works really fast. The crane moves 40-50 packs of concrete in about an hour. It does so 3-4 days a week. Without any problems!"
Personal help - "and that’s how it always is"
When a truck needs to be pimped like Bent Mortensen's, it requires some dialogue about the possibilities. Jesper gets his inspiration from Facebook groups and other truck drivers and brings the ideas to his regular sparring partners at HMF.
"They know me at the local workshop. So, when I say I want this and that, they come up with ideas that they believe I’ll like. For example, they came up with the idea of the illuminated HMF sign," Jesper says, happily pointing to the well-lit HMF logo.
The close cooperation with HMF is important to him. He knows that advice and service are key to maintaining a good business.
"It's cheaper for me to get help for 600 Euro and know that someone will actually come, than to risk downtime for a whole day," Jesper says, recounting an incident when he urgently needed help:
"Once I had a problem with the EVS system while I was solving a task for a customer. It was on the 8520. Then Claus Pedersen (Service Technician at HMF for 40 years) came out personally and solved it, so I could move on. And that's how it always is."
So, in a haulage business where all the trucks are busy all day, it's important that everything works - otherwise the customer and the business suffer. That's why Jesper always makes sure to bring his vehicles to regular service overhauls at certified HMF workshops with competent staff.
"When I use a reliable service and repair partner, I’m covered if something breaks later on. It’s common sense to me. Then I don’t end up with the bill due to some poor repair solution”.
Love it when people say it can't be done
Each of Bent Mortensen’s vehicles are as thought-through as the truck with a 9520 crane fitted and ready for any task imaginable. Indeed, one of the company's trademarks is that they take on all kinds of jobs.
This is how Jesper has also ended up in some quirky situations during his life as a haulier.
"Some of the funniest jobs I've been on were once when I had to put up an altarpiece in a hospital church. Another time I had to deliver a heart sculpture to the Queen's 'vacation house' (Marselisborg Castle in Aarhus, ed.). And then there was the time I had to put the bell back in the bell tower at Saint Lukas’ Church in Aarhus. That was some demanding precision work!"
Jesper speaks truth when he says that no task is too big or too complicated. In fact, that's what drives him:
"I love it when people say it can't be done," he concludes with a twinkle in his eye.