Custom precast, pint-sized powerhouse crane combine for boxed-in construction
When it comes to cranes, bigger isn’t always better. Especially when your construction project is reminiscent of Russian nesting dolls.
A recent project called for a small precast building to be constructed inside another building, a 160,000-square-foot manufacturing space in Euclid, Ohio. This “building within a building” was required to safely house hazardous chemicals in a sealed-off area.
ALL Erection & Crane Rental of Cleveland, a member of the ALL Family of Companies, collaborated with Mull Iron and Mack Industries to strategize the project.
“Having to construct the containment building within an already-existing structure came with certain limitations,” said Brian Meek, ALL Crane sales representative. “Our three entities came together to discuss the issues of height limits, building access, and other logistical matters. Once we determined which crane we would need to use, Mack Industries said it could custom fabricate hollow-core precast planks for the building materials. In essence, they reverse-engineered their product to accommodate the capacity of the crane we would be using.”
The chosen crane was the Liebherr LTC 1050-3.1, a compact mobile crane designed to be an ideal hoisting unit for use in very constricted areas, specifically for work inside industrial buildings. In addition to its compact size, it offers a 50-ton capacity and a 118-foot telescopic boom. It’s also street legal, so it can be driven directly to the jobsite. ALL owns one of the few in the area. “It quickly became clear that the Liebherr LTC 1050-3.1 was the only machine for the job,” said Meek.
Mack Industries is a leader in the manufacture of precast, based in Valley View, Ohio. The company specially fabricated 30-foot hollow-core planks weighing approximately 13,000 pounds per piece, and trucked them to the site via specialty trailer. Both the truck and the crane had to fit though a garage door on the side of the larger structure.
The Liebherr LTC 1050-3.1 has the ability to telescope in and out while carrying a load and features a small boom head, well-suited for the limited 24-foot overhead clearance from the outer building’s ceiling. The cab also raises so the operator can get a clear view of the work area, monitor the boom head, and maintain sightlines with the workers on the ground.
“By the time we got to the jobsite, everything had been strategized in advance, so it was just a matter of executing the game plan,” said Meek. “This inner building was constructed in a single day. Precast was the right material for the job, and the Liebherr was the right crane—the only crane, really—for the job. Together, it made for an unbeatable timeline.”
About ALL
The ALL Family of Companies is the largest privately held crane rental and sales operation in North America, operating under the ALL, ALT, Central, Dawes, and Jeffers names. For a rental quote: 800-232-4100 or https://www.allcrane.com/.