GTK raises first windmill in the field
19 December 2007Manitowoc’s Grove GTK1100 crane has completed its first series of lifts at a job site in Germany. The distinctive crane, with its unique design and transportation abilities, was first shown in iron at the Bauma trade show. Following further tests at Manitowoc’s Wilhelmshaven factory in Germany, the first unit went to work in December for owner Wiesbauer.
The GTK1100’s first job was in Ilshofen, Baden Würtemberg in the southern part of Germany. Energy provider Repower Systems is installing a 2 kW wind turbine at the location and selected the GTK for an initial project. For this job the crane required only four trailers as there was no counterweight required for the lifting configuration.
The first three lifts were the wind turbine tower mast sections that weighed 62t (68 US tons), 53t and 45t. Next was the installation of the heaviest element, the nacelle, which weighed 70t (77 US tons). Finally, the crane positioned the three rotor blades (each weighing 8t) which were assembled on the ground before being lifted as a single 42t load. The GTK1100 has a 76.5 m vertical tower which is topped with a five-section 60m (197ft) telescopic boom.
Jochen Wiesbauer, managing director of Wiesbauer, said the crane had lived up to all expectations.
“The performance of the GTK1100 on this first set of lifts was simply outstanding,” he said. “Because these lifts were the first in a field setting we took extra caution and double-checked everything. But even with this, the cost and time savings compared to other lift solutions were exceptional.”
Manitowoc welcomed several dozen potential customers to the site while the lifts were taking place.
