30
ACT
SEPTEMBER 2013
PRODUCT FOCUS
SUPER CRANES
to liquefied gas. Of special interest to
Chunjo is the crane’s Variable Position
Counterweight (VPC) system, which
ranges from 28 feet fully retracted to
95 feet fully extended. It minimizes the
crane’s footprint and ground preparation.
Jerry Maloney, global product director,
says the market for heavy lift cranes is
strong.
“The market is still busy, and this is even
after the Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear
Power Plant disaster slowed down the
expansion of new nuclear facilities
construction,” says Maloney. “Power plant
construction continues to grow, as does
work at fabrication yards for offshore
platforms and work in shipyards.”
Super AFRDs
Bigge Crane & Rigging entered the super
crane market in 2012 with its AFRD,
which the company claims is the world’s
largest capacity crane at radius. The ARFD
has a 7,500-ton capacity with 300-feet
of main boom and a 4,000-ton capacity
with 560-feet of main boom. Bigge has
produced two of the new models.
Gedge Knopf, major projects regional
sales manager, says that one machine is
working at Plant Vogtle in Waynesboro,
GA and the other is working at VC
Summer in Jenkinsville, SC.
Bigge declined to say whether more
AFRD units are in production.
The features that distinguish this crane
are high-speed performance machinery
for slewing, hoisting and booming,
exceptional capacity at radius, automatic
self-leveling, state-of-the-art safety
features, modular components for ease of
assembly and economical transportation.
Knopf says the market for the AFRDs
has been mainly for large, modular
construction.
“I also see the market for these cranes
growing over the next decade,” says Ryan
Parker, Bigge marketing manager. “We
still might not even know what industry
that may be, but as our world grows, so
does the need for super high capacity
cranes. It’s why we’ve continued work and
development of these cranes, as we look to
the future for their expanded use.”
Mammoet Vice President Guus Stigter
says the market for his company’s PTC
cranes is impressive.
“We have one PTC 140 working at an
offshore fabricating yard in Ingleside, TX,”
he says. “It has been erecting sections of an
offshore spar, with each section weighing
about 2,500 to 2,800 tons.”
With a capacity of 3,500 tons, the crane
was set to complete work in Ingleside in
the fall and then move to another job.
Another Mammoet PTC 140 had been
working in the U.S. at a new steel mill
in Louisiana. That crane was moved to
a refinery along the Gulf Coast where it
removed an old coker unit and installed
a new one. The next job for the crane is
in Ponca City, OK to install coke drums
weighing about 500 tons each.
“Knock on wood, the market for these
cranes has been good,” says Stigter. “The
forecast looks very promising. There are
many projects on the books or in the
decision-making process to start moving
forward early next year. There are two
or three grass roots projects starting in
Louisiana and Pennsylvania. Most of these
are modularized and these lifts will exceed
1,500 tons. We feel comfortable saying that
there’s plenty of opportunity for these large
machines in the U.S.”
As well, the PTC 140 can be modified to
become the PTC 200, meaning that it can
be upgraded from 3,500-tons capacity to
5,000-tons capacity.
“In this case we are able to do a few
tricks, strengthening a few critical pieces
and recertify these cranes to 5,000-ton
capacity,” he says. “But at the same time,
it’s not about who has the biggest machine
it’s about the best fit for the job. That’s
how we look at it for our clients. It’s about
determining the right value for the job.”
Sources at ALE, which is based in
Staffordshire, United Kingdom, report that
the market for super heavy lift cranes is
In July, the Liebherr LR 13000 was
erected in its maximum lattice boom
configuration. The combination of the
120 meter main boom and the 126 meter
luffing jib produced a lattice boom system
with an overall length of 246 meters and
an overall height of 248 meters.
“continually active as clients see benefits
in new solutions offered by innovative
equipment in particular.”
ALE entered the super heavy lift
market in 2008 when it launched the
AL.SK190. The crane has the capacity to
lift approximately 4,816 tons and can be
relocated onsite fully rigged.
ALE has produced two of these cranes
that have worked around the world,
including at an oil refinery in Port Arthur,
TX.
In 2012, ALE announced it would build
a 5,600-ton capacity (5,000 metric tons)
AL.SK3050 to support construction
work at an industrial project in Brazil.
A Mammoet PTC 140 works at
an offshore fabricating yard in
Ingleside, TX. It has been erecting
sections of an offshore spar, with
each section weighing about
2,500 to 2,800 tons.
After working at its inaugural job at a
construction jobsite in Arizona, the Sarens
SGC-120 went to work in China.
