PTC special

Mammoet was awarded the contract to supply a PTC-DS (double stacked) super heavy lift crane to build one of the largest power stations in Europe, located in Neurath, Germany.

The new brown coal-fired power plant consists of two identical power units of 1,100 MW each. The works commenced in July 2007 and, at the time of writing in mid-November, were planned to be finished by the end of November 2008.

Due to the height of the power plant, the PTC-DS had to be modified with a 134.6 m main boom and an additional 69.3m jib, totaling 203.9 m.

Basic maximum capacity of the PTC-DS is 1,600 tonnes, with a load moment of 33,705 tonne metres. The crane and boom reached a tip height of 207.7 m.

"With that it even dwarfed the famous 157 m high Kölner Dom [Cathedral] in nearby Cologne," says the company.

Another highlight of the challenge was a fully rigged move, by 100 axle line SPMT, of the PTC-DS from Block F to Block G at the power station, following an emergency situation during its construction. The crane was returned to Block F at a later stage.