Crane in operation despite limited available space: Liebherr mobile construction crane lifts radio equipment onto telecommunications tower

The crane rental company Wiesbauer GmbH & Co. KG was tasked to lift fragile radio equipment to a height of 85 metres at a site surrounded by forest.

The narrow access route along steep, unsurfaced forest tracks isn’t a problem for the MK 140 mobile construction crane.

The main challenge lay in finding a crane that could manage the steep forest tracks, some only three metres wide, without damaging trees and other obstacles along the way and still provide a sufficient hook height directly at the tower. The company opted for the MK 140 mobile construction crane.

The MK 140 mobile construction crane provides taxi crane operation with a lifting height of over 90 metres directly at the telecommunications tower.

Ready to start work within a matter of minutes.

The MK allowed the crane operator to drive right up to the telecommunications tower and assemble the crane in next to no time at the touch of a button.

Christoph Kriegel, service engineer at the company Wiesbauer, was impressed, “We decided on using the MK 140 for this project because of the limited available space on the access road as well on site. Its assembly is also twice as fast as that of a classic telescopic crane.”

A practical remote control allows the crane operator to operate his crane from where he has the best view of his load.

The target platform was located at a height of 85 metres and required a hook height of almost 92 metres. Therefore, the MK 140, with its hook height of up to 94.4 metres at a 70° maximum luffed position, was perfect for the job. Thanks to the Variojib jib concept, the mobile construction crane was able to lift the steel components and other technical accessories onto the platform in luffing mode within a very short space of time.

Mobile construction crane expertise on site: Christoph Kriegel and MK operator Günther Sliewa.

The site of operation was located in a small clearing, surrounded by dense forests on the highest point of the Stromberg Ridge near Cleebronn (district of Heilbronn). The listed telecommunications tower “Brackenheim 1” was originally built for the microwave radio relay network of the Deutsche Bundespost in 1969 and, standing at 124.4 metres in height, it offers the ideal conditions for radio technology.

^{March 2020}