Potain tower crane powers museum makeover

One MDT 809 with a custom 279-foot (85-meter) jib can reach most of the perimeter of an art museum renovation project in Maryland.

Washington, D.C.-based contractor Lenkin Enterprises is utilizing a Potain MDT 809 tower crane for the renovation of a private modern art museum in Potomac, MD.

For the museum project, a crane with a long jib and extended reach was required to minimize disturbance to the museum’s landscape, which is in a meadow with native plants and wild grass. To reduce environmental impact, the project called for the use of a single tower crane instead of two. This meant using one crane to reach most of the building’s perimeter to make the work feasible.

“The Potain team and the Manitowoc Lift Solutions division worked hand in hand with me to find the right solution so we could adapt the MDT 809 to meet my needs,” Michael Lenkin, structural engineer, Lenkin Enterpises. “I was able to get an 85-meter jib for the crane with the capacity my client wanted on a static base, despite having to shoehorn this crane into an alcove at the museum. There were a lot of different challenges, but the work of the team at Manitowoc both in France and the U.S. made it possible.”

The MDT 809 at the museum project is notable for being the first in North America to use the ZY854 cross-shaped base, which supports high working heights without adversely impacting set-up or operation costs. It’s also the first MDT 809 crane with a 279-foot (85-meter) jib and the first to support both the 2-part/4-part trolley (SM/DM) and full-time 2-part trolley (SM Pur). The cross base is supported on pile caps and micropiles to transfer the loads below the museum. The crane and foundations were coordinated carefully with existing buried utilities.

“This crane and its long reach are crucial for the renovation of the museum,” Lenkin added.