Tadano AC 7.450-1 performs unique lifts at bottling facility in Pennsylvania

Tadano AC 7.450-1 all-terrain crane, purchased from Empire Crane, performs unique lifts at bottling facility in Pennsylvania

Lane's Crane Service of Moosic, Pennsylvania received an interesting lifting challenge from beverage bottling company Joriki USA recently; erect four 37-foot (11m) tall, 19,000 lb. (8.6t) tanks on the company's plant floor under a 41-foot (12.5m) ceiling joist. Lane’s AC 7.450-1 all-terrain crane, purchased from Tadano distributor Empire Crane, turned out to be the right machine for the job. The crane's extended 263-foot (80m) main boom, coupled with the Sideways Superlift System (SSL), eliminated the need for a luffing jib — something that saved on transportation costs and setup time.

Matthew Lane of Lane’s Crane Service, describes how well the recently purchased AC 7.450-1 performed on the challenging lift, “We chose this crane due to its long reach and ability to do the job with main boom only, as well as its efficiency when being assembled on site."

The fact that no luffing jib was required not only ensured low transportation costs and fast assembly, but also reduced the space required for assembling the crane on the construction site. The AC 7.450-1 impressively demonstrated its high efficiency, as it took the crane operator and two crew members less than three hours to set up the machine with the 263-foot (80m) main boom in SSL configuration and full counterweight. Tadano America All-Terrain Product Manager Hutton Strader adds, "Tadano put a lot of thought into the design of this machine, which is effectively a 7-axle crane that competes like an 8-axle but has the space envelope closer to a 6-axle.  It’s a lot of strength and reach in a relatively compact package.”

The lifts themselves presented the Lane’s Crane Service team with an interesting challenge: the four 37-foot (11m) tanks had to be set upright in the hall, which was only 41-foot (12.5m) high. Therefore, the only access for the lifts was through the roof of the hall. Small rectangular openings in the roof (exactly above the respective installation positions of the tanks), were created and were made just large enough for the hook block to fit through. The Lane’s Crane Service team used a 35,000 lb. (16t) forklift as a “tail crane” to stabilize the tanks during the lift at the other end. In this way, the team managed to safely install all four tanks in the shortest possible time.

The AC 7.450-1 is definitely a dynamic crane, and it served Lane’s Crane Service well for this unique job. Matthew Lane adds, “We were very pleased with the performance of the crane on this project, especially considering this was only the second job for this machine, and the first using the superlift.  Everything went seamlessly, the customer was happy, and the operator and crew are looking forward to using this machine on future jobs.”