How tower cranes are helping the latest global projects

Four towers work on London development project in the UK. (Photo: Bennetts Cranes)

Bennetts Cranes, Raimondi’s exclusive dealer for the UK, has installed three MRT159s and one MRT152 flat-top tower crane at the Green Quarter site in West London in the UK.

The project is a regeneration development that will provide new homes, commercial and retail spaces as well as community facilities.

Erected between 2022 and 2023, the four flat tops present similar configurations in terms of tower height and jib length.

Two of the three MRT159s are at work with a jib length of 44 metres and tower heights of 47.2 metres and 67.8 metres. While the remaining MRT159 and the MRT152 are both installed with a radius of 38 metres and heights of 64.9 metres and 47.3 metres, respectively.

“The use of flat-top saddle jib cranes in this particular case, where each crane oversails or is oversailed by at least two other machines, has helped to minimise the height difference needed between them. This has boosted the cranes’ productivity in terms of load lifting time compared to an A-frame crane solution,” said Edward Seager, managing director at Bennetts Cranes.

The cranes will be onsite for approximately another 12 months.

Helicopter assembly of a Terex flat top crane in Italy. (Photo: Terex)

Construction company Pollini Andrea used a helicopter to erect a new Terex flat top crane in the Dolomite Mountains of Italy, installing the crane at a height of 2,601 metres above sea level.

The company, based in Pelugo in Northern Italy, commissioned the Terex FC 6.24H crane as part of a project to renovate and expand a remote mountain refuge lodge. Works to the site will see the addition of new catering and accommodation facilities.

While the tower reaches a maximum height of 26 metres, it can reach greater heights of up to 43.1 metres when anchored to the building. The works are expected to be completed by the end of 2024.

Potain towers at work in Saudi Arabia. (Photo: Manitowoc)

NFT Group has purchased two landmark Potain tower cranes and immediately shipped both to a high-profile tourist destination under construction in Saudi Arabia as part of the vast NEOM development.

One of the cranes is an MCT 1105, the largest flat top model in the Potain range, and the other is one of the previous largest models, an MCT 1005.

The cranes are scheduled to work onsite for nine months.

Using large capacity tower cranes was the only option for the jobsite, owing to limited space and the fact there are no accessible routes for wheeled mobile or crawler cranes on the 840,000 square metre island.

The timeframe is tight for construction too, so a precast design is being used to speed up the build time.

This means the cranes have to place concrete modules of up to 20 or 30 tonnes.

Both have been configured with 50 metre jibs for the project, although they can accommodate up to 80 metres. The MCT 1005 is working with a 43.1 metre height under hook, while the MCT 1105 has a 63.1 metre height under hook.

Four flat top Potain tower cranes aid bridge construction in India. (Photo: Manitowoc)

Four flat top Potain tower cranes are close to finishing on a record-breaking bridge construction project in India.

As India’s tallest bridge, the pylons stand at 182 metres. It is a cable-stayed bridge over the Tiger Valley forming a key element of the Pune-Mumbai Missing Link project.

Main contractor Afcons bought and erected the MCT 385s in 2021. All have 50 metre jibs. Access roads to the site were congested, narrow and winding, making it difficult to deliver tower cranes. Making it easier was being able to transport the crane upper in seven truckloads.

The cranes were first erected to a height of 60 metres, before being climbed as work progressed, to a final working height of 181 metres. They lifted loads weighing up to 6.4 tonnes. The new bridge will be part of a new 13.3 km link allowing a straighter and safer road.

Wolffkran tower renovates building in Vienna, Austria. (Photo: Wolffkran)

Construction company Porr is using a Wolffkran 8060.25 tower crane to renovate the European Patent Office building, including installing a photovoltaic system on the roof, in Vienna, Austria.

The only possible location for the crane in Vienna’s densely populated and high-traffic Landstraße district was right in the botanical garden at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, placed between old and listed trees. The architects and construction site team worked closely with Vienna’s Wolffkran team and managed to find an environmentally friendly assembly concept and a suitable location for the crane. The crane was installed in January and will be on site until 2024.

Liebherrs assemble tower cranes in Germany. (Photo: Liebherr)

Crane rental company Colonia used a Liebherr LTM 1750-9.1 wheeled mobile telescopic crane, with a smaller LTM 1150-5.3 an as an auxiliary crane, to install two tower cranes. The tower cranes were to replace the concrete balconies on one of Europe’s tallest buildings, the 147 metre Axa high rise on the banks of the River Rhine in Cologne, Germany.

To install the new, more weather-resistant balconies made of glass and aluminium, two tower cranes were mounted on the building’s roof at the end of June. The 750 tonne capacity LTM 1750-9.1 played a key role in this project – with its 52 metre telescopic boom as well as a 15 metre mast extension and a 91 metre luffing jib, the crane was tasked with lifting various parts of the two Liebherr tower cranes high into the air.

“We used the entire ballast of 204 tonnes as well as all available equipment for the mobile crane for this operation,” reports Christian Kühne, project manager at Colonia. The large crane was supported by the 150 tonne capacity LTM 1150-5.3, which was used as an auxiliary and assembly crane on the ground.

The cranes were used in tandem for one week.