Heavy lifts for paper giants
Largest mobile crane in fleet executes challenging lifts for Sappi & Mondi
Our plant services business successfully executed two challenging projects in the last few months utilising the flagship Liebherr LG1550. The lattice boom 600t mobile crane is the largest mobile crane currently in the Babcock fleet. This heavy lifting crane is suitable for a range of lifting applications where large and excessively heavy items must be raised. Despite the challenges, Babcock was trusted to deliver the projects on time without compromising on safety.
Mondi Richards Bay - Removal and replacement of overhead gantry crane
The plant services team was called in for the removal and replacement of an overhead crane on Mondi’s paper wetting plant in Richards Bay. The original crane had structural damage and had to be replaced. The overhead crane was removed and replaced in three separate lifts; the winch carriages, and the two gantry sections each measuring 40m long and weighing 40t. The LG1550 with a 28m main boom, 49m luffing boom and 200t counterweights on the deck for this undertaking. The project was on a strict turnaround time as the overhead gantry crane had to be removed and replaced while the wetting plant beneath the crane was still in operation. Babcock had only one day available to remove the old crane, and a second day to install the new one.
Sappi Ngodwana - Removal and replacement of boiler
In March this year, Babcock supplied the LG1550 with 56m main boom, 42m luffing boom, 160t carrier counterweights and 180t superlift counterweights to remove and replace a 30-year-old boiler during the Sappi Ngodwana shutdown. This project was confronted with a number of challenges:
First, there was very little space to build the crane in the configuration required so highly accurate planning was vital. The international contractor for the boiler replacement was on an extremely tight programme that was scheduled hour for hour where a delay of the crane delivery for lifting was not a possibility, so a third of the build of the crane was done in rainy conditions. The old boiler was removed in sections with the supply water piping attached. Lifting of the crane boom and the removal of the first piece took less than a few hours. The new 90t boiler was installed at 2am at a height of 65 metres and on a radius of 37 metres. Doing a critical lift at night was not the preferred option but the project had to proceed due to the tight deadlines. The challenges continued even after the new boiler was installed as the crane had to be completely dismantled and removed from site within four days. The removal took place over a long weekend with public holidays when abnormal road travel is restricted.
The lowdown on the LG-1550 LIEBHERR
Maximum lifting capacity/radius: 600 t at 4.5 radius
Lattice main boom: 21 m - 98 m (SL configuration)
Lattice jib: 28 m - 84 m
Carrier engine/output: Liebherr, 8-cylinder, turbo-Diesel, 440 kW