Turning heavy: Enerpac's new gantry lift system

Installation of turbines and similar heavy components in power plant construction is a major challenge. A new heavy lift gantry system from Enerpac that can also rotate the load is designed to make the job easier, safer and quicker. Alex Dahm reports

Hydraulic heavy lifting equipment specialist Enerpac in the Netherlands has a new 450 tonne capacity gantry system that allows the load to be rotated as well as lifted. It is the first Enerpac gantry to offer heavy lift capability, via strand jacks, combined with a rotation function. Large turbine equipment can be lifted and rotated on power plant installation projects.

The turbines and other heavy loads usually come in to site on specialized transport trailers positioned as close as possible to the installation point. They then need to be lifted and installed perpendicular to the trailer. That is where the new Enerpac strand jack gantry comes in. It can lift to a height of 15 metres.

Four modular legs support overhead beams on top of which is an Enerpac SBL1100 telescopic hydraulic lifting system running on a skid track. On top, spanning the two gantry beams, is two pairs of 200 tonne capacity strand jacks. Suspended from them via the lifting strands is a centrally suspended rotation unit and lifting beam. The load can be turned by up to 90 degrees which Enerpac claims as a unique feature of a gantry like this. An Intellilift wireless control system is used to operate the whole thing.

Commenting on the new system, Jeroen Naalden, Enerpac Integrated Solutions director, said, “The strand jack gantry design combines the strength of strand jack lifting with the flexibility of a hydraulic gantry, and an innovative load rotation capability, to provide a highly capable lifting system for heavy loads.”

For ease of movement and handling, all of the gantry system components can be transported in standard containers. It is a product of Enerpac’s Integrated Solutions facility in Hengelo, Netherlands. The first unit was delivered to a North African customer for electricity generation work.

See this story in the January 2017 issue of International Cranes and Specialized Transport. Register to receive your free copy at: www.khl.com/subscriptions