High flying stars and stripes

As a tribute to US service men and women, Sheboygan, WI boasts the world's tallest flag pole. The 338 foot tall pole was set in place by Dawes Rigging & Crane Rental.

Relying on crane programming software Compu-Crane, Dawes' Roy Krouse developed the plan for erecting the flagpole. The standard practice when erecting a flagpole is to weld the pole together on the ground and then place it upright. But with the size and weight of this particular pole, it was determined that the pole needed to be erected in sections as it stood in the base.

Dawes used its 500 ton Terex-Demag to lift and hold the 11,000 pound sections while its GMK5165 supported a man-basket, allowing welders to fuse the flagpole pieces together. Challenges were aplenty, with the crane tips very close together and also high winds that caused delays.

Krouse said the Compu-Crane software was critical element in the success of the erection because they were able to complete the job on the computer screen and then complete it at the job site.