Six tower cranes manufactured by Raimondi, an Italian crane company owned by Saudi Arabia’s KBW Investments, are supporting work on the MINES ParisTech university project in France.
The tower cranes were installed by a 10-strong team from GP Mat International, Raimondi’s exclusive agent in France.
Formerly known as École des mines de Paris, MINES ParisTech is one of France’s highest-ranked universities.
The project site, which is located in the Parisian suburb of Saclay, requires the cranes to be operational for timelines ranging from 18 to 24 months.
Frank Torchard, president of GP Mat International, oversaw the cranes’ installation. Commenting on the project, he said: “It was imperative to have cranes with high lifting capacity on this site, due to the heavy prefabricated components.
“The cranes will be used in the construction of a set of offices over five levels, and will be lifting form panels, concrete, and prefab elements over the duration of the construction process.”
Each crane took approximately 16 hours to erect, and all six units were installed within a period of two days.
Although the project’s main contractor, Cardinal Edifice, already owned several Raimondi cranes – owing to a long-standing relationship with GP Mat International – it opted to add units to its existing fleet to facilitate the construction of MINES ParisTech.
Torchard explained: “We have collaborated closely with Cardinal Edifice since 1999. Due to the heavy lifting requirements, we suggested the [Raimondi] MRT294 for its strength. With a lifting capacity of 16t, we were certain that the jobsite would be best-serviced with this Raimondi model, in addition to the models already part of Cardinal Edifice’s fleet: the MRT223, MRT189, and three MRT243s at heights ranging from 34m to 52m.”
In accordance with French labour regulations, the two Raimondi units with heights exceeding 50m were equipped with elevators.
In addition to assembly, GP Mat International will oversee the Raimondi fleet’s operations for the duration of the MINES ParisTech project, including all activities related to maintenance and disassembly.
