Gilley Crane makes first lift with Terex Explorer 5800 at the Jack Daniel's distillery

Gilley Crane and Jack Daniel’s recently came together when Gilley Crane was tasked with lifting two boilers weighing more than 100,000 pounds each at the Jack Daniel’s Distillery in Lynchburg, TN. The plan required each boiler to be lifted twice at a 28-foot radius in a confined space.

"At one end of the lift, we had to work around a fenced-in lot nearby other equipment, while at the other end we had to work around rebar sticking up around the boiler base," explains Gilley Crane Owner, Robert Gilley.

Working in the confined area, Gilley Crane’s crew needed a compact crane with good maneuverability. Having only a two-day window to complete the project, the company needed a crane that offered fast mobilization, quick setup and efficient operation.

Gilley Crane selected their new Terex Explorer 5800 all-terrain crane, purchased from its Terex Crane distributor in Cleveland, Renegar-Driggers Machinery Co, Inc. Gilley Crane’s four-man crew quickly roaded the Explorer 5800 crane plus full counterweight the 30 miles from its Manchester yard to Lynchburg. It required four additional transports to move the crane’s 154,800 pounds of counterweights to the project site.

Powered by a 12.7-liter, 550-hp Tier 4F (Euromot Stage IV) engine, the crane has the power to quickly make it to the jobsite at speeds reaching 53 mph. Once on-site, engine speed and power is reduced to 1600 RPM and 275 hp respectively, providing ample capacity for proper crane operation while reducing fuel consumption.

In total, the project required eight lifts to move and place the two boilers and bases. The 20-foot-tall by 25-foot-long boilers and 10,000-pound bases were first placed onto trailers and moved approximately 200 yards to their final location. Working with 55.4 feet of main boom at a 28-foot radius, the Explorer 5800 delivered more than enough capacity to lift and position the boilers and bases.