Helmut Gaus, owner of Gaus, said Grove’s all-terrain Megatrack suspension technology and all-wheel steer made travel on the project easier.
Main contractor on the Bingen job, B.F.M., based in Korschenbroich, Germany, utilized the GMK4100 to place 136 struts, 36 panels and 18 frost protection panels. The concrete struts, which were used in the foundation as well as the main building, were 16 m long and weighed 21 t and 28 t. To place these elements, the GMK4100 worked with 27.8 m of main boom and positioned the loads at radii of between 8 m and 12 m.
For the panels, which weighed 14 t, the main boom was increased to 31 m and the loads positioned at a radius of 16 m. For the frost protection elements, which weighed 3.5 t, the crane used main boom of 48 m and the elements were placed at a 36 m radius.
Alfred Ebert, Gaus’s operator on the project, repositioned the crane a number of times during the project but said that was easy with the GMK4100.
“As with many other technical functions on the crane, the suspension and leveling are easily controlled and also displayed in the new ECOS control system,” he said. “Having identical ECOS control systems in both cabs on the crane makes operations like these much easier. It gives better familiarity and makes things more efficient.”
The crane was supplied to Gaus by German Manitowoc dealer KranAgentur Werner. The GMK4100 is the company’s latest delivery and its seventh Grove crane in a fleet of eight. Grove’s GMK4100 has a maximum capacity of 100 t and a maximum main boom of 52 m. Manitowoc has recently upgraded the engine choice on the crane and it is now equipped with a more powerful 335 kW Mercedes engine. It also has a new heavy duty luffing jib for increased lifting duties. As with folding jibs on other Grove all-terrain cranes, the operator can hydraulically luff the jib using controls in the cab.
Once completed, Rhenus’ logistics center at Bingen will cover 42,000 sq m.
