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| Grove GTK1100s tandem lift chimney section in Germany  Two Grove GTK1100 specialist cranes from Manitowoc worked in tandem to erect a new chimney for a coke production facility in the SaarLorLux region of southwest Germany. The facility is owned by Dillinger Hütte, a European producer of heavy steel plates, which are generally used for the construction of heavy machinery and shipbuilding. To erect the 140 m high, 3.5 m diameter chimney, main contractor company Stahlbau Schaefer considered several factors. The chimney had to be erected by placing each segment one on top of the other to reach the maximum height of 140 m. Additionally, the construction area was limited by confined spaces on site and several pipe bridges that had to be avoided.Stahlbau Schaefer consulted with a local crane rental company, AKV Schirra Schuch, to find the best lifting solution for the job. Initially, a crawler crane was considered, because it could make the lifts over the pipe bridges by working at a large radius with a long boom and luffing jib system. However, higher transportation costs and confined space difficulties made a crawler crane a less-preferred option. Roman Schirra, general manager of AKV Schirra Schuch, said that while looking for alternatives he realized that a Grove GTK1100 would be the ideal solution. "Our company attended a launch event for a GTK1100 owned by rental company Wiesbauer," he said. "The lower transport costs, ability to rig the crane in confined spaces and huge lifting capacities, even at spectacular heights, made the GTK1100 a good choice for Dillinger Hütte." With crane company Wiesbauer now on board, the first chimney segments, each weighing 60 t, were lifted into place. Working efficiently and rapidly, the company's new GTK1100 completed the first phase of the project – erecting the chimney to 100 m height – with no problems. However, the last phase proved more of a challenge for the Wiesbauer engineering team. The final chimney segment had a net weight of 38 t and had to be lifted to 140 m. Knowing that the GTK1100 has a maximum capacity of 34 t at full extension, Wiesbauer had to devise a solution to lift the final load into place. The company's solution was to hire a second GTK1100, from Breuer & Wasel GmbH, another German rental company. By designing a detailed 3D drawing of the last lift, a team of specialists were able to gain an additional 1.7 m in working height with the two cranes working together, allowing the tandem configuration to perfectly pick the last section of the chimney. By closely following the schematic, Wiesbauer lifted the final section into place without problems. The final load, including hook block, lifting accessories and rope weighed approximately 41.6 t. It was lifted at a radius of 12 m to a height of 140.2 m. write your comments about the article :: © 2008 Construction News :: home page |