Wiesbauer puts new AC 700 to work

Crane rental company Wiesbauer used its new Terex AC 700 all terrain crane to erect a tower crane at a work site in Kornwestheim, Germany.

The Bietigheim-Bissingen-based crane service provider carried out the project on behalf of the Mörfelden-Walldorf branch office of construction company Trinac, which is building a new office building for the Wüstenrot bank in Kornwestheim.

The decision to use this crane was not only based on the AC 700 crane’s technical characteristics but also on logistical considerations. Thomas Wiesbauer, general manager at Wiesbauer, who runs the company with his brother Jochen, said, “We had the crane stationed at our headquarters in Bietigheim-Bissingen precisely at the right time, and Bietigheim-Bissingen is only an hour away from the work site in Kornwestheim,”

This meant that travelling to the site with the AC 700 crane was relatively easy, requiring only the appropriate travel permit and what in Germany is referred to as a ‘BF-3 third-generation escort vehicle’. The unit was accompanied by an assist crane and four trucks.

Setting up the AC 700 at the work site by the seven-person Wiesbauer team, assisted by two Trinac employees, took five hours. Jochen Wiesbauer said, “Like every other Terex crane, this unit was clearly designed with ease of assembly in mind, which is crucial to our ability to deliver when it comes to short assembly and disassembly times. In addition, this ease of assembly also plays an important role in the outstanding cost effectiveness of the model, as it makes us more competitive,”

To reach the lifting height of up to 70 metres required to erect the tower crane, the Wiesbauer assembly technicians configured the Terex AC 700 crane with an LF main boom extension measuring 26.40 m, an SSL system with a 30 degrees offset, and 100 tonnes of counterweight.

Components included relatively lightweight and compact mast sections as well as more unwieldy elements such as the slewing unit, the two-piece jib and the counter jib.

Günther Mühleck, crane operator, said, “When lifting loads with these types of dimensions, it’s not enough to just rely on the crane operator’s expert touch. You also need a crane with extraordinary precision.”