A special mobile crane was used to lift, carry and place four 25t printing presses in an Australian print works to overcome tight space limitations and provide maximum capacity and reach.

The contract was carried out by Sydney machinery moving specialists, Johnston’s Transport Industries using its own purpose designed and built J35 low profile slewing crane with pick and carry ability on pneumatic tyres.

Since the presses were 3.8m high and had to be placed under a mezzanine slab 4.6m above the concrete floor, the available clearance for boom tip and rigging was only 800mm. Adding to the problem, permanent mounting bolts projecting from the floor threatened to obstruct the crane axle and brake cylinders as the load was inched forward into position.

Ingenuity was required at this point, so the load was lowered to the floor and extra counterweight was added to the front of the crane to lift the rear part of the carrier clear of the floor projections, allowing the driver to move the crane forward while retracting the boom. After repositioning, the crane carrier was lowered to allow final placing of the load. A special hook adapter and sliding clamp were used to lift each press within the minimum headroom available.

The 35t-capacity, four-axle crane, has a two-section boom with a four ram configuration which allows the back of the boom to be lowered for low head-heights, and can tip forward to place a load below ground level if required. Mobility and slew were used while travelling with the rear bogie suspension mechanically locked out by inserting chocks above the springs. This keeps the crane level and stable when travelling with the load.

According to Martin Grant, Johnston’s man at the site, the J35 and the company’s other specially designed cranes routinely complete lifts like this. However, each job has special challenges that require adaptations on site, demanding close planning and coordination of the lifting team.

“In this case no other crane or lifting machine in Australia would have been able to perform the task in a short time. We placed four printing units in one day, without damage to the concrete floor, much to the client’s delight,” Grant said.

The predecessor of the J35 was Johnston’s locally designed and built J20, a 20t-capacity stiff “backender” with luffing capability. The latest model J40 has an additional lifting ram for the boom and some sophisticated dual cab controls to allow switching from driving position to crane operating position with ease. These units can travel at speeds up to 100 km per hour on the highway.

The company has two Franna all-terrain cranes, one with special high-strength Bisalloy jib and the other with legs added to the front to stabilise lifting. These innovations were made by Johnston’s to facilitate their specialised work.

The fleet also includes a range of rough terrain fork trucks and cranes ranging from 5t to 35t capacity, including a J9 Mitsubishi slewing crane of 10t capacity and early model, Australian, CAP slewing type truck cranes.