January 7 - Gilley Crane Rigging and Lifting has mobilised its new Terex Explorer 5800 all terrain crane to the Jack Daniels distillery in Lynchburg, to install two 45.3-tonne boilers.
Tennessee headquartered Gilley Crane only had a two-day window to complete the project, and required a compact crane with excellent manoeuverability in order to complete the job. The project required each boiler to be lifted twice at an 8.5-m radius in a confined space. "At one end of the lift, we had to work around a fenced-in lot nearby other equipment, while at the other end we had to work around rebar sticking up around the boiler base," explained Gilley Crane owner, Robert Gilley.
Gilley Crane's four-man crew drove the Explorer 5800 crane plus full counterweight 48.3 km from its Manchester yard to Lynchburg. It required just four additional transports to move the crane's 70.2 tonnes of counterweights to the project site.
In total, the project required eight lifts to move and position the two boilers and their respective bases. The 6.1 m x 7.6 m boilers and 4.5-tonne bases were first placed onto trailers and moved approximately 187.9 m to their final location. Working with 16.7 m of main boom at an 8.5 m radius, the Explorer 5800 crane delivered more than enough capacity to lift and position the items safely.
