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ART HOIST IN FRANKFURT: 200th TEREX® AC 500-2 LIFTS CELEBRATED SCULPTURE INTO NEW LOCATION
Frankfurt, Germany, February 29th, 2012 – On behalf of Deutsche Bank and the Zöller Transport GmbH, crane operator M.S. Kranservice used a Terex AC 500-2 to position Max Bill's 66 tonne (72.7 U.S. tons) sculpture "Continuity" onto three concrete bases in a trapezoidal pool in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was the 200th unit of the AC 500-2 delivered from the Terex Cranes facility in Zweibrücken.
In its various stages of completion, the sculpture had already made several journeys before being installed outside Deutsche Bank’s Frankfurt office in September 1986. Initially quarried from a 300 tonne (330 U.S. tons) block of granite in Sardinia, it was cut down to 180 tonnes (198 U.S. tons) for transportation and processing. Then it was shipped to Carrara, Italy, where the artist carved an "endless loop" form from the solid rock. Following completion in 1986, the striking monolith was transported by ship to Rotterdam in the Netherlands, where it was loaded onto a barge and shipped to Frankfurt. For the last few miles it traveled through Frankfurt on a flatbed trailer, prior to installation in front of Deutsche Bank. Then in 2008, the artwork was obstructing renovation at Deutsche Bank’s headquarters, so once again it had to move. Since then, it has stood next to the historical site “Taunusanlage” – until it was brought to its new destination in the Deutsche Bank park.
Fragile - handle with care!
However, this latest move proved to be extremely challenging, demanding a high degree of care and skill. Due to its extensive travels, the sculpture was already showing very fine cracks. Thus it had become particularly delicate. "To rule out any damage, we used a sophisticated lifting frame to protect the sculpture during transportation and lifting. It encased the artwork like a steel cage. This enabled us to distribute the forces evenly and avoid dangerous load peaks," explains Thomas Zöller, CEO of Zöller Transport GmbH, whose team made meticulous preparations for the mission.
Yet a certain degree of risk was bound to remain, so for the crane operator, precision and reliability were particularly important. With its high-precision IC-1 crane controls, the Terex AC 500-2 proved the right choice. "From a technical standpoint, a 6 m (20 ft) high, 66 tonne load with a footprint a good 4 m (13 ft) square was no great challenge for the AC500-2," he notes. Hence, using 160 tonnes (176 U.S. tons) of counterweight at a radius of 18 m (59 ft) with fully extended outriggers, he was able to complete the lift safely in ten minutes. Then, after a short slew, he set the sculpture down onto the three concrete bases with precision measured in millimeters – so gently that there was no damage whatsoever.
"All in all, when it came to handling this lift in busy downtown Frankfurt, the Terex AC 500-2 proved the ideal machine for the job," says the site manager. It was an opportunity for the crane to demonstrate its many advantages: A carrier length of just 17.1 meters (56 ft) makes this the most compact eight-axle crane in its class, and thus highly maneuverable. In addition, it can be driven on the highway job-ready, without the need for an assisting crane. Furthermore, if needed, it can be configured with an axle load of just nine tonnes. "This flexibility makes the AC 500-2 our top choice for city-center use," states the technical manager at M.S. Kranservice. Arndt Jahns, Manager of Product Marketing for All-Terrain Cranes at Terex, adds: "This model has been a great success. The crane used on this jobsite was the 200th AC 500-2 we've delivered to date. We believe the number of units produced testifies to the huge practical value which this machine offers our customers."
Little wonder, then, that the AC 500-2 proved its worth in Frankfurt, even though the circumstances were anything but ideal. Not only was the available hardstanding area in front of the bank building extremely limited, it was also located above an underground car park. Thanks to the compact design and relatively low operating weight of the AC 500-2, the lift was executed safely, rapidly and with great precision, in spite of the fragile base terrain – an impressive performance which was greeted with loud applause from the numerous onlookers and press representatives gathered around the jobsite.
The Terex® AC 500-2
With a carrier just 17.1 m (56 ft) long, the Terex® AC 500-2 is the most compact eight-axle crane in its class. A maximum working height of 145.8 m (478 ft) can be achieved with a luffing fly jib. The crane offers enormous power across the full lifting capacity range, through features such as the improved design of the main boom cross-section and the reinforced sideways Superlift. The star-shaped outrigger layout helps to ensure the stability required. Short setup times and the IC-1 control system's ease of use make for safe crane operations and comfortable working conditions. The IC-1 crane control system provides a sound basis for safe working, especially on tough assignments. All load charts are stored in the system, and the right charts are automatically retrieved after specifying the relevant load, working radius, and other configuration data. The working range limiter protects crane operators against collisions during critical operations. The crane's slewing angle, height limit, radius limit and "virtual walls" are extremely simple to adjust. The crane is powered by the latest engine technology, delivering 480 kW / 653 PS at 1800 rpm. The carefully thought-out drive design provides outstanding transfer of engine power, yielding excellent performance on both the highway and the jobsite”
Zöller Transport GmbH
From its Frankfurt am Main base, Zöller Transport GmbH (motto: "We know what to do") offers international transportation for machinery and equipment as well as specialized installation services. Services to museums and the construction industry, together with earthworks, technical assistance and salvage services, complete its portfolio.
The firm has a long tradition, having been founded in 1897 in Frankfurt am Mainas a workshop operation involved in carpentry, scaffolding, and the transportation of money safes and machinery. Today it employs between 25 and 30 staff and presides over an extensive vehicle fleet, with twenty industrial cranes, truck-mounted cranes, conventional and telescopic forklifts as well as a variety of lifting frames and special-purpose trailers.
For more information, please visit www.zoeller-transport.de
M.S. Kranservice
M.S. Kranservice GmbH was founded in 2007, and now has branches in Ludwigshafen, Speyer, Karlsruhe, Frankfurt, Kaiserslautern, Worms, Bruchsal, Fulda and Saarbrücken. The company has rapidly established an excellent reputation across the greater Rhine-Main-Neckar-Saarland region for its technical coordination of large-scale projects involving prestigious civil engineering and structural engineering enterprises. Its core business comprises the planning, coordination and site implementation of projects, delivered as a complete service package from a single source. In addition, the business has a fleet of modern mobile cranes (including nine Terex machines) up to 500 tonnes in capacity, as well as specialized equipment. Today M.S. Kranservice GmbH is now well established as an expanding service provider in the telescopic crane operator business.
For more information, please visit www.mskrane.de
About Terex
Terex Corporation is a diversified global manufacturer of a broad range of equipment that is focused on delivering reliable, customer-driven solutions for many applications, including the construction, infrastructure, quarrying, mining, shipping, transportation, refining, energy, utility and manufacturing industries. Terex reports in five business segments: Aerial Work Platforms; Construction; Cranes; Material Handling & Port Solutions; and Materials Processing. Terex offers financial products and services to assist in the acquisition of equipment through Terex Financial Services. More information can be found at www.terex.com.
