HEAVY LIFTING
INTERNATIONAL AND SPECIALIZED TRANSPORT
■
DECEMBER 2013
18
three crane models: the CC 8800-1 and the
CC 9800, both with a 1,600 tonne capacity,
and the CC 8800-1 Twin with a 3,200
tonne capacity. The cranes come fitted
with a fall protection system and can move
whilst under load. “The CC 8800-1 can be
converted into a CC 8800-1 Twin with an
addition of a Twin kit,” Jakobs adds, “This is
because a customer might not always have a
lift planned for a super heavy lift crane, but
having a 1,600 tonne base machine allows
the customer to have more job possibilities
and be more profitable.”
Also designed to meet space constraints
on job sites are the Liebherr LR 11000
crawler crane and the LTM 1750-9.1
wheeled mobile crane, both of which are
manufactured at Liebherr Werk-Ehingen.
The LR 11000 has a 9.2 m track width
and can be configured with an S-type
main boom and a W-type luffing jib. It
can also have a PowerBoom system with a
heavy luffing jib. To make transportation
easier the 1,000 tonne LR 11000 has a
transport width of 3.5 m and a height of
3.2 m and individual component weights
can be reduced to 45 tonnes. In addition,
a new boom system is available on a
smaller Liebherr model, the LR 1600/2,
to increase lifting capacities. Keeping the
key requirements of customers in mind,
Working giants
The change in component dynamics and
the space in which a heavy lift crane is
required to perform a lift has resulted in
equipment becoming ever more project-
related. “For us this means we have to plan
and provide equipment that is more and
more short-term,” a spokesperson from
Liebherr Werk Ehingen explains.
“Customers want the best lifting charts
at immense heights and reach,” Maloney
adds, “They also want easy operation, easy
mobilisation and reduced set-up costs and
less transport cost. On top of all that are the
standard safety concerns. So, the challenges
we face are everywhere and, as lifts get
bigger and demands higher, the challenges
we must overcome are ever-increasing.”
The outcome of these specific requests
has been a new wave of heavy lift cranes,
each one complete with a smaller
footprint and an increase in capacity
compared to previous models. But the
route to completion hasn’t been an easy
one, as Guntram Jakobs, Terex Cranes
crawler cranes product manager, explains,
“Designing a crane that can lift thousands
of tonnes is no easy task, and designing a
crane that can lift thousands of tonnes and
still be easily transportable is a
major challenge.”
To meet these requirements Terex offers
Heavy lift provider Fagioli is planning an
advanced modular skidding system: a
push and pull self-propelled system with
a load cell weighing system. “This system
will provide a capacity of 64,000 tonnes
and being computer controlled, will be
able to simultaneously and separately
check the load and its main parameters,
for each single skid shoe,” a company
spokesperson told IC.
The company already has several lifting
systems, including strand jacks, tower
lift systems and a skidding and elevator
system, which gives a lifting capacity up
to 7,200 tonnes (skid shoe capacity up to
1,000 tonnes each).
A recent application for a Fagioli strand
jack system was at the MOSE project in
Venice. The company used the system
to install 12,000 tonne caissons and 400
tonne barriers to prevent Venice from
flooding. For the project, Fagioli used a
tailor made catamaran with strand jacks to
drag and lower the 12,000 tonne caissons
into the water. The catamaran was also
used to install a launching structure to lift
and lower the barriers into the water.
“Fagioli is also in the process of
building a push-up system for the hoisting
of topside and off-shore platforms with a
capacity up to 24,000 tonnes,” a company
spokesperson added. “The push-up
system could be used in combination with
a tower lift system.”
SKIDDING SYSTEMS
Buckner Heavy Lift Cranes at a refinery
project in Oklahoma, USA
Fagioli use a strand jack system at the
MOSE project
A Terex CC 8800-1 carries out lifting tasks
at a project in Portugal
A catamaran with strand jacks is used to
drag and lower the caissons into the water
