Demag CC 3800-1 lifts new stand at the Saint Symphorien stadium of FC Metz

It's the largest crane operation in Metz for 30 years.

It was certainly a great moment for the fans of FC Metz when the enormous steel structures, weighing up to 242 tonnes, of the new south stand in the club's stadium were lifted and assembled. A job that the construction company responsible, Demathieu Bard, together with Costantini, entrusted to Martifer the manufacturer of the structure. The lift itself was performed by crane service provider Sarens using its Demag CC 3800-1 lattice boom crawler crane, since it had all the prerequisites to perform this sporting feat.

To make the "playing field" accessible for the Demag CC 3800-1, however, the subsoil at the edge of the stadium first had to be specially prepared: "With two layers (7m+5m) of 20-cm-thick Bongossi timber, we provided sufficient support for the crane," reports Demathieu Bard site manager, Julien Cavelius, who was visibly impressed by the dimensions of the equipment: "For me, the Demag CC 3800-1 is an absolutely beautiful machine that can be set up amazingly quickly and easily despite its gigantic dimensions. The machine worked precisely and reliably - despite the huge components that had to be lifted.”

The complex ground preparation required the use of 18 truck transports for the necessary material and 55 transports for the crane itself. "Since we brought eight to twelve transports to the construction site per day, just three Sarens employees using two assist cranes were able to assemble the crane ready for use in five days," reports Julien Cavelius. Once the assembly work was completed, there were two more days for acceptance and testing, so the crane was ready for lifting after seven days.

The Sarens team set up the crane in SWSL configuration with 60-m main boom, 36-m Superlift mast and a 24-m-long luffing jib for the demanding lifts. The counterweight on the superstructure weighed 165 tonnes, and the Superlift counterweight up to a maximum of 325 tonnes, depending on the loads to be lifted. The Demag CC 3800-1 was thus able to lift the four steel structures, each 45 m long, 25 m wide and 14 m high, and weighing up to 242 tonnes. The crane first lifted the components to a height of 16 m so that it was possible to move them over a row of trees at the edge of the stadium. The crane operator then slewed the load over the trees and lifted it by a further 13 m to 29 m. This provided enough height to be able to slew it over the stadium’s existing stand and, with the help of signal people, lower it exactly to the place where it was "received" and anchored by the Martifer technicians.

“The lifting performed by the CC 3800-1 was an absolutely impressive spectacle for me. There has not been such a crane operation in Metz in the last 30 years," sums up Julien Cavelius with satisfaction, expressing the greatest respect to all those involved - including the crane - for this achievement and above all for keeping to the tight schedule.