The firm operated in Aberdeen and Grangemouth but suffered a decline in turnover in recent years to £11m and fall in profitability.

Despite directors of the family-owned business putting their own cash to keep the firm afloat, trading performance deteriorated further leading to the appointment of insolvency specialist KPMG yesterday.

A separate company operated by the Whyte family, Whyte Crane Services Limited, is unaffected by the administration and continues to operate as normal.

Blair Nimmo, joint administrator, said: “Despite the extensive efforts of the Whyte family, Whyte Crane Hire Limited was unable to continue trading in light of significant liabilities and cashflow difficulties, having been affected by the challenging market conditions in the Scottish construction and oil and gas sectors.

“This has led to the redundancies which have been announced. We will be working closely with Skills Development Scotland via their PACE team to support all affected employees during this difficult time.”