Our annual best of the best lifting competition concludes for 2025 with a clear winner. We selected ten top lifts from ICST over the last 12 months and presented them in the September issue for you to choose and vote for your favourite.

Now those votes have been pulled together from our print and digital readership, plus our social media channels and the count is complete.

Thanks to everyone who made the effort and submitted a vote, it is appreciated. All the shortlisted lifts were worthy contenders helping to illustrate and celebrate the innovation and groundbreaking achievements of those in our industry.

Far and away the entry with the most votes this year was Bragg Companies in the USA with its Entry 9 Go for stack project to stand the Space Shuttle Endeavour up on the end of its rocket boosters as a new museum exhibit in the USA. It was a clear winner.

Coming in second was Entry 10, the onshore assembly of an 18 MW (very large) wind turbine, using an XCMG crane. Very close behind in third, also with a wind energy-related project, was Entry 1, Belgium-headquartered Sarens, with its installation of multiple super size transition pieces.

Mention should also be made of the entries from Southern Cranes and Access, Hebo, Smith Crane and Construction and Mammoet as being close behind in the running.

Anyone submitting a vote who included their details for a chance to win a prize will be entered into a draw to decide the winner. Look out for an announcement on that soon.

Many congratulations to this year’s winners!

Bragg accomplished a feat never attempted outside a NASA facility by installing the Space Shuttle Endeavour in the vertical blast-off configuration. Photo: Bragg

WINNER

ENTRY 9

Go for Stack!

Equipment: Liebherr LR 1750 crawler, LTM 1400 wheeled mobile, Enerpac Cube Jack, Goldhofer SPMT, J&R Power Rotator

Equipment user: Bragg Companies

Location: California, USA

Bragg Companies relocated the Space Shuttle Endeavour, two solid rocket boosters and the external tank-94 from storage to a new air and space centre for the vertical Go for Stack exhibit at the new Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center at the California Science Center in the USA.

Endeavour on SPMT negotiated its way past an elementary school, stadiums and museums on its way to the crowded jobsite via a single tree-lined entrance with limited build and breakout areas, plus elevation changes. Photo: Bragg

Many challenges had to be overcome, including working out new lifting points with a lack of accurate information, a crowded jobsite next to a school, trees, elevation changes, the list goes on.

The ET-94 booster was 47 metres long, 8.4 metres in diameter and weighed 30 tonnes. Endeavour stood 18 metres tall, 37 metres long, had a 24 metre wingspan and weighed 80 tonnes.

“The upending of these priceless space shuttle articles had never been attempted outside of a NASA-controlled indoor facility,” explained Justin Lambert of Bragg Companies. “Other challenges included wind variations, underground utilities, ground pressures, night-time work and 24/7 media coverage. Over 1,500 engineering hours and five planning methods were submitted to the client.”

At a crowded jobsite shared with an elementary school, stadiums and museums, the companies involved operated within a single tree-lined entrance with limited build and breakout areas. Elevation changes and high centre-of-gravity moves added complexity. To keep the museum open, much of the work was done at night.

Bragg’s Go for Stack! project was also the SC&RA Job of the Year for Rigging US$1 million to $3 million earlier in 2025. See the full story at Crane and Transport Briefing online: https://www.cranebriefing.com/8056436.article

The 4,000 tonne capacity XCMG XGC88000 crawler crane assembling an offshore turbine onshore. Photo: XCMG

SECOND PLACE

ENTRY 10

Turbine record

Equipment: XCMG XGC88000 lattice crawler crane

Location: Yingkou City, China

A 4,000 tonne capacity lattice boom crawler crane from XCMG in China assembled an 18 MW wind turbine weighing 800 tonnes, setting another lifting record, according to the manufacturer. It was the crane’s first lift in the offshore wind energy industry. The offshore turbine in the eastern coastal city had a hub height of 145 metres and it was nearly 270 metres from the ground to the tip of the rotor.

In addition to the weight of the load, top challenges on the project were the height of the lift and the precision required for accurate placement atop the tower. A further critical element of the operation was to install the three rotor blades, each 126 metres long.

Sarens handled transition pieces for offshore structures. Photo: Sarens

THIRD PLACE

ENTRY 1

Heavy handling

Equipment user: Sarens

Location: Netherlands

Sarens handled massive transition pieces weighing 750 tonnes each and monopiles each weighing 1,500 tonnes, for the He Dreiht Offshore Wind Park in the Netherlands. To manage complex client interfaces, Sarens said, it operated around the clock, using high performance cranes, including Liebherr LR 12500-1.0 and Tadano Demag CC 9800 lattice boom crawler cranes. Sarens’ in-house 750 tonne TP Handler enhanced efficiency and played a crucial role in maintaining the schedule.