Two Liebherr cranes used for bell tower installation in Brazil

24 May 2016

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Guindastes Tatuapé used two Liebherr mobile cranes, a LTM 1750-9.1 and a LTM 1500-8.1, in the installation of a bell tower at the Nossa Senhora Aparecida sanctuary, in Brazil.

The sanctuary in Aparecida, on the outskirts of Sao Paolo, is the second largest catholic temple of the world, behind only Saint Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. The sanctuary marks the discovery by three fisherman of a statue of the Virgin Mary in the Paraíba do Sul river, in 1717. Guindastes Tatuapé installed the bell tower as part of preparations for the 300th anniversary of the discovery of the statue.

The metallic structure of bell tower has a height of 36m and a weight of approximately 97t. At the early stages of the lifting process, this structure was positioned horizontally and one of the sides of its base was fixed with two rods. Three other anchorage points were settled: one in the head of the structure, from which the LTM 1500-8.1 lifted the piece; two on the other side of the base that was held by the LTM 1750-9.1.

When the operation began, the 500t crane slowly raised the structure, moving it to the vertical position and lifting it by its head.

When the boom reached 39m radius, the weight was displaced to the 750t crane. After nearly two hours the operation was completed successfully.

Many aspects were taking in consideration to choose the cranes. The company was looking for both maneuverability and easy access to the installation point, as well as the reach of the cranes. The LTM 1750-9.1 was assembled with 114t ballast and the telescopic boom was completely open, reaching 52m long. The LTM 1500-8.1 was assembled with 90t ballast and 61.9m boom.

The bell tower will hold 13 bells and each of them is dedicated to one apostle and also honours cardinals, bishops and archbishops linked to the statue. The 13th bell is the biggest one, dedicated to the Virgin of Aparecida and to São José.

With three anchorage points, the metallic structure was assembled in less than two hours.
Liebherr mobile cranes LTM 1750-9.1 and LTM 1500-8.1 are used in the installation of the metallic structure of the bell tower of the second largest catholic temple of the world.