A Mannesmann Dematic CC 2800 crawler crane with a lift capacity up to 300t, and special fitments, has shown great versatility at the Docklands Stadium project currently being completed by Balderstone Hornibrook in Melbourne, Australia.

The crane owned by National Crane Hire, has been lifting roof trusses and other structural elements for the steel fabricator/erector, Alfasi Constructions, working under difficult site conditions.

Challenges include soft ground (75kPa), heavy lifts up to 150t to elevations of 60m, and the need for mobility around the crowded area.

The CC 2800 was the second of its kind produced by the German factory and the first to be delivered overseas – being chosen by owner and client particularly for the Docklands project. It is totally self-erecting, with quick and easy hydraulic pinning of boom elements which can be stacked one inside the other for easy compact transport. The crane is also fitted with special 2m pads to reduce ground pressure in the poor underfoot conditions at the site.

The crane is configured with 48m of main boom and 48m of luffing jib to mainly erect prefabricated assemblies making up the fixed truss system of the stadium.

Said National Cranes project manager John Simmons: “Besides the obvious criteria of having the necessary capacity, the crane needed to be able to readily relocate around the site, bearing in mind the restrictions on ground loadings.

“Alfasi adopted a policy of maximising the assembly of components at ground level and realised that the crane would therefore have to be highly manœuvrable and take up a minimum amount of space, even when doing lifts normally given to smaller cranes.” He added: “Because of the versatility of the Demag CC 2800, the need for additional smaller cranes has been considerably reduced.

“Up to now, besides the odd Sunday, the crane has been performing lifts every day since it has been operational. These lifts include truss sections weighing up to 75t, smaller structural steel elements and even precast concrete seating members. On one occasion, 25 of the seating members were placed in a one hour period, more than doubling the best performance previously achieved with a 150t crawler.

“Our sister company Highrig Crane Hire has supplied various hydraulic boom canes, including a small Bencini crane specifically for hard to get at places, to perform work that would normally require complicated and time consuming rigging techniques.” According to Tony Bartlett, Mannesmann Dematic’s Sydney-based regional manager, the CC 2800 is equipped with a 10t counterweight section and 138m of main boom, with an 84m luffer and superlift. A separate two-axle counterweight car is available to transport up to 340t.