Belger puts new 548 to work

USA-based Belger Cartage Service deployed its new 550 US ton (500 tonne) capacity Link-Belt 548 at a nitrogen plant in Verdigris, Oklahoma.

Belger trucked the crane to the plant and began set up at 07:00 hours. "By noon, they had the house unloaded; the car body, car body weights, tracks, upper tray, and base section installed; and were ready to install the 157 foot [48 m] long-range boom," says Link-Belt.

Supporting a heat exchanger rebuild, the crane mainly worked at a 70 degree angle and used a 160 tonne capacity hook block with six parts of line and a three-piece spreader bar.

After the crane removed the convection box from the top, workers removed the coils one piece at a time by cutting the pipes and chipping away the refractory with sledgehammers. When a coil was free, the 548 swung it to the left and set it on a trailer.