Aertssen teamwork with 14 cranes

A line of 14 all terrain cranes from Aertssen Kranen made a spectacular sight on a Belgian pipeline job.

The 14 cranes, all Groves, stood side by side as they simultaneously lifted a pipeline for an industrial plant project in Antwerp. The pipeline, placed temporarily in the Port of Antwerp, is used to carry sludge. Each crane lifted a 6.1 tonne section of the pipe, the individual sections of which were positioned on their own pontoons, floating in the port. To help make it a smooth operation a team of eight supervisors watched over the lift.

The Grove all terrain cranes used were as follows: Seven GMK3055s, three GMK4080s, two GMK5095s and a pair of GMK5130-2s.

Yves Smets, Aertessen Kranen account and project manager, said, “We’ve had experiences with multi-lift operations up to 11 cranes that involved pipelines up to 250 metres but lifting a 14-section pipe with joints was new to us. Nevertheless, the hard preparatory work of our engineering team and the professional actions of the crew on the field, made it a success story. We are glad to have taken part in this project and are always looking forward to a new record-breaking challenge.”