Lars lifts the green building industry with new loader crane
Eco-friendly waste sorting is very near to Lars Christensen's heart. He is a 4th generation haulier at Anker Christensen’s in Denmark and has expanded his business with a new loader crane from HMF to be able to keep up with the demand from the green building industry.
"We make a greener future for the next generation" is written on the dark blue container below the Anker Christensen logo. Haulier Lars Christensen meets us in front of his office in Hjørring, Denmark, eager to show us his new loader crane from HMF.
In recent years, Lars Christensen has specialised in eco-friendly waste management. Construction companies call him for guidance and order containers for waste sorting as part of their green construction and renovation work.
Waste isn't just waste
"Waste isn't just waste today. It has to be sorted and transported in the least impactful way and preferably recycled," explains Lars Christensen as we sit in the cab of his brand-new Volvo truck with an HMF hook lift installation.
As the great-grandson of the founder Anders Christensen, he's a 4th generation haulier. The company name Anker Christensen stems from Lars’ father. The family business started with a horse-drawn carriage back in 1927. In 2020, Lars Christensen joined forces with Nordjysk Lift to get "even bigger muscles" to handle the demands of the future from the green building activities.
"Right now, apartment blocks all over Denmark are being renovated," he says from the driver's seat on our way to Aalborg. "In some places they tear everything down - tiles, floors, frames and kitchen units. We advise construction companies on how to sort the waste and in how many fractions. Nowadays, you can easily see construction sites with 20 different kinds of containers with each their kind of waste."
The crane is a universal tool for us
At the Port of Aalborg, crane operator Knud Erik Schumacher loads smaller waste containers on and off with Anker Christensen's new HMF 3220 loader crane. When Lars Christensen was looking for a new crane just over a year ago, he fell for the model's low tare weight and minimum space requirements.
"The crane is a universal tool for us. There is room for a hook lift, a container and a crane on the vehicle, and on construction sites the crane takes care of assembly work, removal tasks and handles big bags with waste. That crane is constantly in operation."
Anker Christensen chose this particular knuckle boom crane from HMF based on the price, product and service.
"HMF has a good reputation. We're very happy with the people at our local service centre. The crane and service have met our expectations 100%. Now we just need to add another crane and continue to expand our business," says Lars Christensen.
A way to contribute to sustainable growth
In the past year and a half, the number of Anker Christensen's containers has doubled to 500.
10 drivers, three office employees and nine trucks service construction sites in North and Central Jutland. In five years, Lars Christensen expects the company to have doubled in size.
"Eco-friendly waste sorting is here to stay. Governments and municipalities in Denmark and other parts of the EU are making it a priority. For me, helping building contractors is a way to reduce the climate impact and contribute to sustainable growth," the haulier says.
