Chunjo’s 31000 crawler moves abroad

The crane was used to assist construction of a petrochemical plant in the Thanh Hoa Province of Vietnam, at a project overseen by a consortium of Vietnamese and Japanese companies.

Transportation of the crane to Vietnam was comparatively easy for a crane in its class, said Manitowoc, due to the crane's Variable Position Counterweight (VPC) system reducing the amount of counterweight required.

At the job site, the crane, fitted with 90m of boom and 946t of counterweight, lifted xylene columns weighing up to 983t each. It was positioned on steel mats rather than timber mats, reducing ground-bearing pressure from 70t/m2 to 30t/m2.

Jong Seoung Park, general manager of Manitowoc Cranes in Korea, said: "Though it is a challenge to transport such a large crane to another country, customers still wish to have the 31000 on their job sites because it saves so much money during shipping, ground preparation and erection.

"Also, the crane is gaining a reputation for excellent performance. Chunjo prefers the crane for these large lifts and the contractors are very pleased with the crane, too, because it reduces costs and completes their projects with greater efficiency."

Chunjo's 31000 also recently positioned a 98m tower at a petrochemical facility with a single lift, whereas similar jobs in the sector have previously been completed using a combination of heavy lifting and on-site fabrication. Chunjo's work schedule for the 31000 now covers all of 2016, said the company.