Sennebogen at work at the construction of the Customer Service Center

A 180 t crawler crane at work at the construction of the Customer Service Center in Steinach, Germany.

With the construction of the new Customer Service Center in Steinach/Lower Bavaria, Sennebogen is not only continuing its growth strategy, but also sending a clear signal for the steadily increasing importance of the After Sales sector. This large-scale project is being supervised on-site by the Max Bögl group of companies. An important contribution to the realisation of the construction project is made by the 180 t crawler crane 5500 E provided by the producer‘s own rental company Sennebogen Rental & Used. 

The construction of the Sennebogen Customer Service Center in Steinach in the district of Straubing is increasingly taking shape. Only a few months after the foundation stone was laid, another significant construction phase is completed with the lifting of the stacker crane into the future warehouse tower. But the 180 t Sennebogen 5500 E crawler crane, which is used for the complete assembly of concrete parts in this major project, delivers an impressive performance not only in this critical task.

Right at the start of the construction, the heavyweight, which can be used for lifting work up to 180 t – in its reinforced version even up to 200 t – lifts the massive reinforced concrete columns and trusses into position, functioning as a pick & carry machine. This is possible because all Sennebogen crawler cranes can still move on the construction site even with up to 90% of the maximum load on the hook, thanks to the powerful chassis. This is a feature that the site manager for structural engineering at Max Bögl, Matthias Prade, who had already often worked with Sennebogen crawler cranes before this project, also greatly appreciates about the machine: "The fact that the crawler crane can move with load is a clear advantage on such large construction sites, especially in comparison to AT-cranes."

In the course of the work, the 5500 E takes on a wide variety of tasks, including setting the precast concrete wall panels and the sandwich frost barriers, and in some cases also assembling the semi-precast slabs and other structural work. "One of the highlights of the site was definitely the positioning of the large reinforced concrete columns for the warehouse tower, which are more than 27 m high," reports Prade. Overall, it is also important to take into account the ground conditions from the very beginning of this construction site. It is not only the wetland landscape itself on which the construction site is located that is tricky, but also the heavy construction machinery traffic on the site. However, thanks to the large footprint of the crawler tracks, which are equipped with 1200 mm wide flat grouser plates, low ground pressure is guaranteed, so that the crane can be moved safely even with its longest main boom configuration of 74.7 m. Once at the destined location, the entire building is then served with precast elements without any additional driving needed.

The installation of the stacker crane for the high bay warehouse is another milestone of the project, in which the 180 t crawler crane is starring once again. In addition to the lifting cage and the smaller cross-connection parts, each of which weighs only up to 3.5 t, it is above all the masts of the storage and retrieval machine which, due to their considerable length of 25 m and a weight of almost 12 t, represent a challenge for the fitters, as these have to be lifted into the high bay warehouse tower, which itself already measures 27 m. In addition to the considerable height of the construction alone, there is also the fact here that all the components of the stacker crane have to be transported over 34 m across a directly adjacent, lower part of the building before they can be inserted into the ceiling recess provided for this purpose, which is only 2.2 m wide. Fortunately, even such difficult lifts close to the building can be mastered without any problems thanks to the sensitive control of the 180 t crawler crane. In addition to the sensitivity, it is above all the simple control of the 5500 E that convinces both the driver and the site manager: "Not only does the crane driver rate the control system as very intuitive, I also had the feeling, after looking over his shoulder even during somewhat complicated lifts, that I could drive the machine myself after just a few brief instructions."

"In my opinion, the 5500 fulfills everything that a crane on a large construction site must be able to do. Among the possible additional equipment, however, I would definitely recommend the luffing jib. Then you are well equipped for most large projects," Matthias Prade concludes.