Wolffs return to the Alps

17 April 2014


Wolffkran cranes have returned to the Vieux Emosson dam in the Valais Alps, Switzerland to extend the height of the dam wall. The manufacturer’s cranes first worked on the construction of the dam back in the 1950s. Recently, Wolffkran’s 40t 1250 B and 30t 500 B tower cranes have both participated in the expansion of the dam.

The redevelopment of the Vieux Emosson dam project began in 2008 with the expansion of the access tunnels and the development of the construction sites. The Wolff 1250 B came into operation in the spring of 2012 for the demolition work on the crest of the wall. The Wolff 500 B was then used for the concreting work to extend the height of the w all. By autumn 2014 the wall will have been increased by 21.5 m to a final height of 65m, doubling the dam's storage volume to 25 million cubic meters.

The manufacturer said that its luffing cranes were chosen because of their high load capacities. This was required to lift the heavy eroding machines and excavators onto the wall. The excavated material also had to be lifted from the wall in 40t skips. The 1250 B was supported by the 500 B in the concreting work to raise the height of the wall.

Space was a key factor in the dam work as Christian Maillet, site manager for the project's contactor Groupement Marti Implenia (GMI), explains: "Due to their long jibs, the tower heights of the luffing cranes, at 30 and 45 meters, could be selected significantly lower than would have been possible with a saddle jib crane. This meant that both Wolffkran cranes could be erected to end height with a mobile crane and did not have to be climbed afterwards".