Crawler-mounted self-erectors at work

Swiss construction equipment supplier and longstanding customer Stirnimann has supplied three units of this model to contractor Implenia for the construction of a 1.2km rail flyover at Renens VD station, close to Lausanne. The flyover will allow trains to pass over existing railway tracks, helping to improve efficiency and convenience for passengers.

The three PotainHup C 40-3 cranes are working around the clock, as the flyover is planned for completion in December 2021.

The Hup C 40-30 was launched at Bauma 2019 and is unique to Potain’s self-erecting tower crane line, as it is the first crane to be enhanced with crawler tracks for improved mobility on job sites with challenging terrain. It was developed side-by-side withStirnimann as part of Manitowoc’s ‘Voice of the Customer’ program. Stirnimann was the first buyer of this model and now has six units in its fleet.

The special application crane has a compact transport length of 13.5m and a width of 2.55m. With its embedded power generator, it can also travel and erect by itself. When folded, the crane can travel at 25m/min and features front levelling up to 30% and side levelling up to 12%.

During the erection process, the crane is hydraulically levelled and has a footprint of 5m x 4.5m. Once erected, the crane exhibits up to 5% front and side levelling. It can also be repositioned while fully erected and travels at a speed of 10m/min. This is a big advantage as the cranes have to be repositioned alongside the bridge every two weeks.