Tadano: Twins work on lift together!

Tadano AC 5.220-1 all terrain cranes load 120-tonne boiler onto semi-trailer with tandem lift.

The team at Frankfurt-based crane service provider Auto - Service Safar GmbH recently decided to use its Tadano AC 5.220-1 all terrain crane to handle a boiler that had been removed from service at the old Griesheim industrial park – and to do it together with Neuwied-based Hack Schwerlast GmbH, which proved to be a solid partner in the endeavor and brought its very own Tadano AC 5.220-1 to help. After all, the only way to lift the boiler, which weighed 120 tonnes and had a length of 11.60 meters and a diameter of 3.50 meters, was with a tandem lift.

The plan was for both cranes to lift the boiler to a height that would make it possible to move a lowbed trailer underneath it so that the load could then be lowered onto the lowbed trailer. After that, the boiler would be transported to its destination in Turkey. “To do this, we started by optimally positioning both cranes after measuring the required radius of 13 meters and then rigging the load,” reports Auto-Service Safar GmbH Heavy Load and Crane Manager Detlef Precht, who also operated the Tadano AC 5.220-1. Together with the corresponding slinging gear, the boiler came in at a gross weight of 122 tonnes, which was split evenly by having each crane handle 61 tonnes.

Set up with a counterweight of 71 tonnes and a boom length of 21,56 meters, the two cranes carefully lifted the heavy boiler to a height of one meter in perfect synchronization. After this, a team from Max Goll moved a twelve-axle semi-trailer with a four-axle tractor underneath the boiler and the two Tadano cranes lowered their load onto the semi-trailer with precision. “Thanks to painstaking preparation and perfect teamwork when carrying out the tandem lift, everything went exactly as planned,” reports Detlef Precht, who knows what this kind of job takes from experience: “The things that are absolutely crucial for us as crane operators are having a direct line of sight, being able to communicate smoothly with each other at every phase of the lift, and having experienced signalpeople that we can rely on one hundred percent,” he says when listing the prerequisites for a successful tandem lift.

He then goes on to add that on top of perfect teamwork between everyone involved and an extraordinarily detailed plan, choosing the right machine for the job was just as important – and that there was no better crane out there for the project than his Tadano AC 5.220-1: “This particular crane is characterized above all by how enormously powerful it is, which means that we have reserves available when we need them – and it proved all that once again during this lift. In short, it’s a crane that really delivers on all its promises,” he says, full of praise for his machine. Hendrik Eich, owner of Auto-Service Safar GmbH, is also visibly impressed: “The AC 5.220-1 has already proven itself in our fleet for a long time and is an essential part of our machine park. We are very satisfied with this machine and also appreciate the many years of successful partnership with Tadano. I would also like to thank Hack Schwerlastservice GmbH for the successful and efficient collaboration on this project”.

Abuzer Colak, managing director of client Colak GmbH, had nothing but good things to say about the lift: “They carried out the job with utmost professionalism and without any issues within the scheduled timeframe. Everything just worked: The team, their teamwork, and the machines that were used,” he happily summarizes the whole thing.