Felbermayr works in the Milky Way

Crane service provider Felbermayr helped replace four whey tanks at Sachsenmilch’s Leppersdorf facility in Dresden, Germany, using a Terex AC 1000 all terrain crane.

The 1,200 tonne capacity class AC 1000 was chosen for its compact and manoeuvrable carrier. It has a maximum system length of 163 metres and is available with a 50 or 100 m main boom.

Challenges faced during the initial set up at the facility, which is also known as the Milky Way plant, included a lack of space and a steep slope, which the cranes had to be set up on. All these issues had to be overcome without interrupting production.

Terex service technician Hartwig Bock, who provided support for the project, said, “To compensate for the downhill slope we supported the AC 1000 by retracting the rear right outrigger almost completely and extending the front left outrigger almost fully, which allowed us to deal with the challenging jobsite.”

Other challenges for the Austria-headquartered Felbermayr included the jib assembly and reeving processes, which had to be performed in an inclined position above the front left outrigger, meaning that the main boom could not be placed on a fully horizontal position at zero degrees.

To prepare the crane with the configuration for the upcoming lift, the Felbermayr team set up the AC 1000 with a boom length of 29.2 m by extending telescopic segments two and three while leaving segments one and four completely retracted. The team then installed a 60 m luffing fly jib to attain the required reach of 52 to 54 m and a hook height of 70 m. Finally, 208 tonnes of counterweight was added.

With the AC 1000 in proper position and configuration, the operator lifted the old 24 tonne tank, swung it to the side within a radius of 51 m, and set it down in a horizontal position with the help of an 80 tonne capacity Terex AC 80-2 all terrain. Next, the AC 1000 lifted the new 30 tonne tank, swung it within the same radius and lowered the new whey tank in to position.

The project was completed without disturbing production.