Giant Marr tower crane goes up in UK

Construction is well under way at the Walsall ERF waste to energy plant near Birmingham in the UK. Photo: Marr Contracting

Heavy lift tower crane specialist Marr Contracting won a contract for the heavy lifting on a project to construct a waste-to-energy plant in the UK.

The Walsall Energy Recovery Facility is being built by Encyclis in the West Midlands, central England. It will have a capacity to burn 436,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste to heat water and use the steam to generate around 49 MW of electricity, sufficient to power around 90,000 households. A further possibility is for the waste heat in the hot water generated in the process to be used for district heating.

This Favco M2480D is configured for a maximum lift capacity of 100 tonnes at the Walsall ERF jobsite. Photo: Marr Contracting

Encyclis appointed Kanadevia Inova as principal engineering, procurement and construction contractor on the project. In conjunction with Kanadevia Inova, Marr came up with the solution of using one of its Favco M2480D heavy lift luffing tower cranes for the lifting work. Australia-headquartered Marr has extensive experience using this method and has pioneered it in the UK and around the world.

While the M2480D can lift as much as 330 tonnes and, for many years was the world’s strongest tower crane, for this application it is configured for a maximum of 100 tonnes. Critical lifts on this job include installation of the 78 tonne economiser and a 69 tonne boiler drum.

Modular construction

Being able to lift bigger heavier loads higher and to longer radii means the plant can be built in larger modules. Lifting these directly into their final positions fits with the Design for Manufacture and Assembly approach. It takes fewer lifts to get the job done which boosts productivity and is safer.

One big, fixed crane suits this site’s ground conditions, Marr said, and needs less in the way of foundations and lay down area than alternative solutions.

“We’re proud to be supporting Kanadevia Inova on the Walsall ERF, where our heavy lifting solution demonstrates how smart crane engineering can make a real difference on complex construction projects,” said Steve Ryder, Marr Contracting general manager – international

“Drawing on our experience delivering similar large-scale energy-from-waste and industrial projects in the UK, Australia and Middle East, we’re delivering a safer, more efficient lifting approach, which has been tailored to meet the project’s specific needs,” added Simon Marr, managing director.

The giant Marr tower crane dwarfs the mobile cranes below. It is due to be on the Walsall ERF site until late 2026. Photo: Marr Contracting