Plant Equipment and Hire February 2020 | Page 13

INTERNATIONAL EQUIPMENT NEWS Mobile cranes for glass panes The 256.5m Frankfurt Exhibition Centre Tower in Germany is currently being refurbished. On behalf of the facade specialist, seele, based in Gersthofen near Munich, the mobile crane team at BKL Frankfurt used Liebherr mobile cranes to install giant glass elements. As part of the refurbishment of the lobby on the ground floor, seele was asked to design, manufacture and install an 1800m² steel and glass facade for the entrance area. An LTM 1090-4.2, operated by BKL Baukran Logistik GmbH took on the hosting work for the first 17m long glass element which, with a weight of around 6t, is probably one of the largest laminated curved panes of glass to be installed in a high-rise block to date. A special glass vacuum system with 92 cups and a hoisting force of 9t was used to hoist the glass to a height of about 20m, requiring a great deal of precision. Crane specialists from BKL have been using an LTM 1100-4.2 to install the next 6-tonne elements which had to be hoisted up to 25m laterally and vertically as part of the refurbishment work. One of the special challenges of this crane job was the limited crane set-up area on the skyscraper’s underground car park, which meant that mobile cranes with a maximum of just 4 axles could be used. The limited ground pressure of the crane outriggers also had to be given due consideration when planning the job. A Liebherr mobile crane from BKL installs giant panes of glass on Frankfurt Exhibition Centre Tower. www.equipmentandhire.co.za JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020 11