Two new Potain towers for Ballast Nedam

Heddes Bouw & Ontwikkeling, the subsidiary of Dutch construction and engineering company Ballast Nedam, has added two Potain MDT 319 tower cranes to its rental fleet.

The 12 tonne capacity cranes are already helping construct student halls of residence at Leiden Bio Science Park in the Netherlands.

According to Manitowoc, the CCS (Crane Control System) topless crane is designed for complex multi-crane installations and makes transport and maintenance both quick and easy. The cranes are providing the Dutch construction and engineering company with the flexible configurations required to meet the complex challenges of the job, Manitowoc added.

The tower cranes were commissioned in September 2021 and will remain on site until June 2022 to lift structural elements for the two new buildings and to transport construction materials.

Crane set-ups

For the job, the cranes are located outside the buildings and the most economic choice was for them to be placed on a 6x6 metre chassis.

The maximum height of the buildings is 43 m, so the lowest crane had to have a minimum height under hook of 54 m – and because the distance between the centre of the cranes had to be 52 m, the jib of the highest crane had to be at least ten m higher. In other words, the height of this crane had to be at least 64 m.

As the maximum height of the buildings is 43 m the first MDT 319 was assembled with a 53.9 m hook height, 45 m jib and 84 t of ballast at the base. The second was configured with a 63.9 m hook height, 60 m jib and 156 t of ballast.

The cranes will lift loads up to 5 t and 3.5 t respectively, including the weight of the rigging equipment. While at this radius the cranes have maximum tip load capacities of 6.4 t and 4.7 t respectively.

“We already have five 16 t MD 365, two 16 t MDT 389 and two 25 t MD 560 cranes from Potain so the two 12 t MDT 319 models are welcome additions to our rental fleet,” said Eric Tukker, who has been the tower crane specialist at Ballast Nedam for more than 25 years. “The 12 t Potain MDT 319 had the perfect specifications for our needs on this project and the trust and confidence Potain has earned from us over the years meant it was a no brainer to add two units with a V63A chassis to our fleet of rental cranes.”

Once complete, the buildings will provide approximately 23,000 m² of living space, including 703 independent student residences, as well as communal areas and facilities, such as study areas, dining rooms, laundry rooms and roof gardens.