Two Terex all-terrain cranes have been used to pull off a 200-tonne girder lift in Kuwait.
The AC 1000 and AC 500-2 models worked in tandem to place a giant supporting beam at a bridge project near to the country’s capital, Kuwait City.
The units that performed the lift belong to Integrated, the main contractor at the site.
“After studying the lift’s requirements, we immediately knew that our Terex AC 1000 and AC 500-2 all-terrain cranes were the right machines for the job,” said Saleh Al Huwaidi, CEO of Integrated.
“They have the capacity needed to safely install the beam, they are quickly driven to the jobsite, and they are very manoeuvrable,” he added.
Both the eight-axle AC-500-2 and the nine-axle AC 1000 were driven from Integrated’s yard to the project site with their main booms installed, thus shortening crane setup time reducing costs.
Manoeuvrability was also a key consideration on the pick as both the jobsite and surrounding area were congested.
“Our eight-man crew was able to install the counterweight, rig the cranes, and have them ready for the lift in one day,” Al Huwaidi explained.
Christian Kassner, senior manager for sales and customer support at Terex Cranes, commented: “Our counterweight design allows the same weights to be used on all our Superlift-class crawler cranes, as well as all-terrain crane models ranging from the AC 350 to the AC 1000. This reduces transportation costs and simplifies counterweight logistics.”
Carrying half the beam load, the AC 1000 crane was rigged with 228 tonnes of counterweight and a 250-tonne hook block. The crew used 25.8m of the main boom’s 50m length at a 9m working radius to pick up the 4m-tall, 2m-wide beam. For installation, the crane lifted the beam to a height of 8m at a 17m radius.
“Even with the weight of the beam at this radius, the AC 1000 crane was at less than 73% of safe working load,” explained Kassner.
The 500-tonne capacity AC 500-2, meanwhile, lifted its 102.2-tonne weight using 24m of main boom at 7.5m working radius. Equipped with 160 tonnes of counterweight, the unit hoisted the beam into position at a 12.5m radius, safely operating at less than 82% of its safe working load.
Once the crews had installed the 200-tonne bridge girder beam, they de-rigged both cranes. The units were returned to Integrated’s yard within a week of leaving the jobsite.
Al Huwaidi concluded: “We chose to use mobile cranes for the project since they are better for a single lift. We chose the Terex cranes because the service is excellent and reliable, and Terex provides strong technical support to our maintenance team.”
