Terex in close quarters

German rental firm Autokrane Schares carried out a delicate lift in the Rhineland town of Erkelenz when it was called in to remove a 9 tonne spire from a church steeple as part of restoration work.

The lift was carried out in the cramped confines of the town's historic centre, where streets measured just 3.5 m wide, providing plenty of challenges for the operators. However, using its Terex all-terrain AC 350/6 for the lift and the Terex AC 40 City as an assist and set-up crane meant that the project went off without a hitch, said the manufacturer.

As space was limited the AC 350/6 approached the church from one direction, while the AC 40 and other support vehicles approached from the other.

The compact design of the AC 350/6 proved beneficial, expalined Teres. The crane was set up with a 40.7 m main boom, a 4 m adapter, a 48 m luffing fly jib, using a Superlift configuration, and a 75.1 tonne counterweight.

To ensure a stable lift, the Schares team used a rectangular spreader slung with round slings and shackles, after which it was positioned above the steeple so that the team's riggers would be able to secure the load onto it.

Then, the spire was pulled with a tension of three tonnes in order to secure the load in place. After this, the riggers were finally able to perform the time consuming task of unscrewing 400 bolts that had been used as a substitute for the original mounting rivets, which had already been drilled out. Once all the bolts were out, the lift could commence, at a radius of 26 m at a height of 89 m.