Extreme pre-cast

Construction of a new 216,000-square-foot warehouse in Henrico, VA, USA, required the placement of 191 precast concrete panels. The 900 foot long by 240 foot wide warehouse is being built at the Richmond Airport Distribution Complex by Becknell Industrial, a developer specializing in industrial properties. Becknell anticipates an influx of cargo to the Virginia State Capitol in the coming years and will be prepared to receive goods at the 17-plus acre site with the construction of the new pre-cast concrete facility with 20 dock doors, 25 tractor trailer stalls, and a 60 foot loading bay. Extreme Steel Crane & Rigging, Inc. of Warrenton, VA landed the job to lift and place the precast concrete panels. To lift and place the 27,000-pound panels, which measure 8 feet wide and up to 38 feet tall, the company used a 210-ton capacity Link-Belt ATC-3210 all-terrain crane.

On average, the Extreme Steel Crane & Rigging crew lifts and places 12 panels each day. To help rotate the slabs, crane operator David Haley uses the 12-foot heavy lift stowable fly and a two-line, one load lift procedure that comes standard on the Link-Belt ATC-3210. The fly is rated at 34 tons of capacity.

“The fly on here works great,” said Haley. “Before, we would have had two lines over the main head sheaves which means the blocks would get too close and hit or banged up against each other. This fly makes the procedure so much easier because it keeps your lines separated. It’s nice and quicker for me with less line entanglement.”

The radius for lifting the concrete slabs ranges from 40 to 70 feet with the boom extended anywhere from 135 to 168 feet.

“We bought this 3210, a 100-ton HTC-86100 and a 300-ton HC-278 HII all in the last year and a half from Link-Belt because that really fits our range of needs,” Haley said. “You can always rent down with the tonnage of crane capacity when we have the Link-Belt machines.”