This month the tower cranes climb down the Hearst Tower, a new landmark building in Charlotte, North Carolina in the USA. By July, if all goes to schedule, the tenants will move in. Foremost among these is Bank of America, whose 60-storey headquarters is adjacent to the Hearst Tower, for Charlotte is reckoned to be the second largest financial centre in the USA.

The new building, which rises to 47-storeys, covers an entire city block and is surrounded by city streets, busy with both pedestrian and motor traffic. Such a dense urban area presented challenges to all those involved with the construction. The configuration of the site and the proximity of existing buildings meant that all three tower cranes used on the project had to be placed within the footprint of the building.

Three Linden-Comansa tower cranes were supplied by Heede Southeast in February 2000. The dominant cranes in the photograph, shown tied into the structure, were LC 8752s. The one on the left of the picture had a height under hook of 223.8m and the one on the right had a height under hook of 212.8m. Both cranes had a working radius of 50m. The third crane is also visible near the bottom right of the picture. This is an L 8752 with a freestanding height under hook of 68.5m and a working radius of, again, 50m.

These cranes have been lifting a total of 3,200 architectural precast concrete segments, weighing a maximum of 12.9t, to heights of more than 200m. Other materials used on the project included 46,000m3 of concrete, 9,000t of structural steel, 19km of pipe, and more than 30,000m2 of glass. The developers are Trammell Crow and The Keith Corporation, and main contractor is the Shelco/Batsoon-Cook joint venture.

Heede, specialises in renting out tower cranes and serves mainly the southeastern USA. It leased its first tower crane in 1958 and purchased its first one in 1962. Heede’s rental fleet consists entirely of Linden-Comansa cranes, some of which are original Lindens, predating the Swedish manufacturer’s takeover by Comansa of Spain 20 years ago. Heede’s relationship with Comansa is so well established today that the two have now formed a joint venture, Linden-Comansa America LLC, to distribute the Spanish manufacturer’s cranes throughout North America.