Stirnimann debuts three Potain Hup C 40-30 cranes on Swiss railway project

The project is the first that the innovative crawler mounted Hup C 40-30 self-erecting cranes have been used on.

The first Potain Hup C 40-30 crawler mounted self-erecting cranes have been deployed on a job site in Switzerland. 

Construction equipment supplier and longstanding customer Stirnimann AG has supplied three cranes to contractor Implenia for the construction of a 1.2 km rail flyover at Renens VD station, close to Lausanne.

The flyover will allow trains to pass over existing railway tracks, helping to improve efficiency and convenience for passengers. The cranes are working around the clock, as the flyover is planned for completion in December 2021.

The Hup C 40-30 was launched at bauma 2019 and is unique to Potain’s self-erecting tower crane line, as it is the first crane to be enhanced with crawler tracks for ultimate mobility on job sites with challenging terrain. The crane was developed side-by-side with Stirnimann AG as part of Manitowoc’s Voice of the Customer program. Stirnimann, based in Olten, Switzerland, was the Hup C 40-30’s first buyer, purchasing six of the unique crawler self-erecting cranes. Half of these cranes are now being used on the Renens VD project. 

The Hup C 40-30 impressed contractor Implenia with its ease-of-transportation, fast and simple erection, and versatility and mobility on the job site. The special application crane boasts a compact transport length of 13.5 m and a width of 2.55 m. With its embedded power generator, it can also travel and erect by itself. When folded, the crane can travel at 25 m/min and features front levelling up to 30 percent and side levelling up to 12 percent.

During the erection process, the crane is hydraulically leveled and has a footprint of 5 m x 4.5 m. Once erected, the crane exhibits up to 5 percent front and side levelling. It can also be repositioned while fully erected and travels at a speed of 10 m/min. This is a big advantage as the cranes have to be repositioned alongside the bridge every two weeks.

“The self-erecting Potain Hup C 40-30 is a truly innovative concept — it’s the first crane to be enhanced with crawler tracks for ultimate mobility,” said Fritz Oschwald, managing director of Stirnimann. “To build the rail flyover in Renens, Implenia has rented three Hup C 40-30 cranes for ten months. The feedback we have received so far is very positive. Thanks to the mobility of the crane on the job site, our client is able to get to work efficiently and make good progress.”