Wiesbauer completes first lift with new Tadano AC 7.450-1

German lift specialist Wiesbauer has completed the first project using the company’s new Tadano AC 7.450-1 mobile crane.

The work involved lifting two elements of the Neckartal bridge, located near Horb in southern Germany.

When complete, the bridge will be 667 metres long and 65 metres tall. It is an extradosed bridge, meaning that it combines features of a traditional pre-stressed box-girder bridge with a cable stay structure.

Tadano AC 7.450-1 in tandem lift of bridge sections (Photo: Tadano)

Each of the elements involved in the lift weighed in at 32 tons. To complete the job, it was necessary to complete a tandem lift, using a second mobile crane from AKM in Munich.

“We master such challenging operations with state-of-the-art crane and lifting technology, for which the AC 7.450-1 is a prime example,” said Sissy Wiesbauer, managing director.

Crane operator Jannik Weigle, who brought the crane to the work site directly from handover in Zweibrücken, said, “We configured our new Tadano for this lift with a 76-metre boom and 120 tons of counterweight. As with any tandem lift, the challenge in Horb was ensuring that both cranes lifted in perfect synchronicity so that the load was always precisely balanced on the hook.”

All participants had radio communications during the lift to help ensure the job proceeded without a problem.

“The lifting concept developed by our team beforehand proved to be extremely effective,” explained Weigle. “We lifted two 24-metre structural elements as planned and positioned them with centimetre precision at a height of 64 metres. Everything worked perfectly.”

In closing, Weigle noted that this was the best crane for the job. “With a smaller model we would have had to install a jib and with a larger crane with a sufficiently long beem we would’ve run into space problems on the site. So in that respect there was really no alternative to the AC 7.450-1 for this job.”