Projects

Heavy-duty assembly of suction and servo press lines

We have assembled a whole number of suction and servo press lines for Audi, BMW, Skoda and VW at production sites in Europe and Mexico. Each line takes approximately eight weeks to complete. The maximum individual weights of the components are 360 t with a lifting height of up to 13 m.

Rotation of 195 t press on

bogie construction

The process of installing a press at the ZF plant in Schweinfurt proved a particularly tough undertaking, especially during the AutoCAD planning phase when it became apparent that the press frame for the lifting process the into the pit had to be turned on the spot due to lack of space. Thus it became necessary for us to construct a bogie with a load capacity of 800 t. By means of a hydraulic gantry the press was raised to an upright position and lowered on the bogie ahead of the pit. A combined working force of only 3 persons (!) then rotated the 195 t heavy press 90 degrees into position “by hand”. Not until this task had been accomplished was it possible to lift and lower the component into the press pit.

General assembly of kompaktsauger press line

IIn conjunction with a production expansion scheme carried out at the Audi Works in Ingolstadt we were commissioned to erect a Kompaktsauger press line. Our hydraulic gantry was set up with a track length of 80 m, a span of 13 m and a hoisting height of approx. 15 m.

The individual subassemblies were unloaded directly beneath the gantry in the front part of the building by means of a heavy transport vehicle then conveyed to the machine foundations where they were assembled in position. Assembly of this press line – consisting of 6 individual presses with 18 heavy components weighing up to 390 t – underwent completion within a period of two months.

Technical features:

• Max. hoisting height of gantry 15 m with 500 t lifting force.

• Max. unit weight – headpiece 390 t max.

• Anchorage and side-stand assembly at a height of 15 m by means of truck-mounted cranes.

Bridge translocation operations in Hamburg

In the course of a bridge modernisation process in Hamburg renovation work was necessary on two railway bridges in the area of the Müggenburg thoroughfare. On account of the cramped site conditions, the only solution was to preassemble the bridges on pontoons. Following completion of the work, the bridges, each weighing 320 tonnes, had to be raised approximately 3.5 m by means of a hydraulic gantry system and the pontoons floated onto the bridge abutments during high tide. Assembly and dismantlement of the constructions proceeded partly by means of a floating crane operating in conjunction with a truck-mounted crane.

Displacement of a 110 t tunnel section

In the course of reconstructing a combined bus/rail linkage point in the centre of the thermal spa resort Wiesenbad to allow unhindered access for persons with restricted mobility, it became necessary to install a heavy tunnel block segment. On account of the problematic soil conditions on the construction site, hoisting the segment in place using heavy crane equipment would have proved too costly. Accordingly, we were commissioned to transport the segment to the site using an appropriate handling gantry.

For designing our track system, special strip foundations had to be cast so as to provide a firm and level substrate capable of sustaining heavy load transportation operations. Following erection of the tracks and placement of our operating equipment, the 110 t precast concrete block was hoisted using a hydraulic gantry and conveyed on the track system to the concrete base, where it was lowered into place.

Relocation of a 90-year old press in Eisenach

Eisenach City Council commissioned us to translocate a double-lever deep drawing press originally built by Schuler of Göppingen. This superb 90-year old machine was to be transported by the time-honoured Eisenach vehicle factory, UFE GmbH, to the Eisenach Automobile Museum “automobile welt Eisenach” for display there as an industrial heritage monument, witnessing a bygone age of automotive engineering in Eisenach. Dismantlement of the press weighing 70 t was carried out by us using a heavy-duty industrial crane assisted by hydraulic hoisting gear, a process carried out while production was in progress at UFE. Under highly restricted space conditions, the press was hoisted from its foundations and transported across narrow lanes. On account of its dimensions (approx. 6 x 3 x 7 m) the giant press had to be transferred to a heavy-duty hydraulic trailer and hauled out of the building. Afterwards it was transported to its future site in front of the museum where it was erected employing two 70 t and 160 t truck-mounted cranes.

Raising a major structure for the rebuilding of Dresden’s Frauenkirche / Church of our Lady

In summer 2001 we were commissioned to raise the head of a stair tower, one of the very few major structures preserved of Dresden’s original Frauenkirche and nicknamed “The Butterfly” on account of its curved projections resembling the shape of the fluttering creature.

This structure had been lying among the collapsed ruins of the church since it was bomb-gutted in 1945. To implement the lifting process safely, a concrete pipe was cast into the major segment, after which an auxiliary reinforcement was inserted for heaving “The Butterfly” by crane and the entire structure securely enclosed in a steel frame.

Our job involved aligning the major segment (G35) weighing a total of 108 t – in the direction of travel by means of a swivel hook before rotating it 180° and moving it on a track system some 25 m towards the church building. On the area in front of the church two large-sized strip foundations were encased in concrete onto which we mounted our track system. In the course of the lifting process, we adjusted each of the four gantries of the hydraulic hoisting system horizontally and vertically, so as to move the major structure with its inherent lateral forces into position (a tricky job calling for millimetre precision) from where it was later hoisted by crane into the church building.

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