In the German city of Hannover this month, two Terex AC 40 City cranes successfully performed a tandem lift to install a bridge crane in a factory, using assembly jibs and no ropes. The tandem lift was chosen to prevent a costly fly in.

The German hire firm, Magdeburg-based Bruns Schwerlast, with locations in Magdeburg and Hildesheim, managed the lift for the factory client.

The job required the firm to place 8.5t overhead bridge crane on rails near to the ceiling of the factory.

Bruns Schwerlast placed the overhead bridge crane in place from inside the facility because of the expense and downtimes entailed in removing the roof.

Two Terex AC 40 City units worked in tandem with assembly jibs to enable them to lift without rope and within the slim margin between the rail and the roof.

Bruns Schwerlast driver Dirk Lichter explained this process: “We equipped the two cranes with ‘runners’ (assembly jibs), which allowed us to perform the lift without hoisting rope–that is, with the booms only. This way, we were able to lift the load to within inches of the ceiling, something that we could not have done with any other crane model,”

Lichter worked with a signalman to synchronise the tandem lift of the crane, first tilting it diagonally to fit between the rails and then carefully turning it until it was on the rails.

Bruns Schwerlast, which has had a relationship with Terex/Demag since the 1960s, has Terex AC 40 City and Terex AC 80 cranes in its fleet, Terex says.

Owner Frank Bruns recently inaugurated an additional Terex AC 40 City, a Terex AC 80-2, and a Terex AC 160-2 into service.

Bruns said of the Terex AC 40 City crane on this lift, “The fact that the cranes are user-friendly and easy to operate was of enormous value in this case, as it made it possible for our employees to position the overhead bridge crane with laser-like precision.”

Terex said that its AC 40 City crane, within its City Crane series, offers both compactness and 40t lifting capacity. It can reach the low height of 2.99m, and maneuver with three axle steering in tight places with a compact total length of 8.57m (of which the carrier makes up 7.34m).

The AC 40 City crane’s maximum system length of 44.2m means it travels on public roads, Terex said.

Terex’s tight fit for Bruns Schwerlast