High pressure at Juventus

Vernazza Autorgru used eight Terex all terrain cranes to help build the new Juventus football (soccer) club stadium in Turin, Italy over three years.

The Juventus Arena, opened in September 2011, replaces the Del Alpi Stadium, which was built for the 1990 World Cup. "When we first began the job in 2009, it was difficult to visualise the stadium fully completed and we were aware that it was going to be a tough challenge," said Diego Vernazza, Vernazza Autogru owner and director.

The 41,000-seat stadium covers about 360,000 square metres and includes a 35,000 square metre shopping mall, a museum, eight restaurants, 24 bars and up to 500 press and luxury boxes.

The Vernazza team was under pressure to ensure the work advanced rapidly. "The AC 80-2 and AC 100's narrow widths and low chassis worked out to be perfect in lifting prefabricated components at short radius, even in some very tight areas," said Vernazza.

A 700 tonne capacity Terex AC 700 was reserved for lifting heavier prefabricated steel and concrete structural components, and to hoist the stadium's roof elements including four huge curved steel masts carrying the colours of Italy's national flag.

"Each mast was 90 metres long and weighed 350 tonnes. Our AC 700 provided the lifting power and manoeuvrability we needed to handle a heavy yet delicate task. By lifting the masts using supporting spars like derricks, we were able to raise them to the exact angle before hoisting them into their final position," explained Vernazza.