Crane equipment and rental companies, such as Bridgeville (Pittsburgh), Pa.’s, Maxim Crane Works L.P., who serve a diverse customer base must meet a broad range of job requirements. They demand flexible equipment that can be configured to meet virtually any lifting application. As Matt Hyden, tower operations manager of Maxim Crane, explained, “We have 30 locations throughout the United States, divided into six regions,” to serve a national customer base.
Four new additional Terex transfer masts — HD23-TS212; HD23-TS23; TS23-H20; and TS23-TS21 — improve Terex tower crane flexibility (flat top, luffing jib and hammerhead tower cranes) by allowing crane companies to more efficiently use a broader combination of Terex tower segments, according to the manufacturer.
“The luffing jib and flat top cranes are Terex Comedil legacy brand designs, while the hammerhead crane line originated from our Terex Peiner legacy brand,” said Matthew Dobbs, director of sales of Terex Cranes.
The tower segments were not originally designed to be compatible with each other.
“Bringing the two designs together in order that any Terex crane could be used with any tower section was one of the final connections we had to make, so these designs would be true Terex tower cranes.”
New Heights, New Markets
Maxim Crane was the first customer to purchase the transfer masts. The company’s tower division operates 100 tower cranes, all of them Terex. The vast majority of the models are hammerhead cranes, covering the 300 to 400 meter-ton range markets.
“We also have 15 Terex SK 575-32 tower cranes for the 500 meter-ton market,” said Hyden.
To prepare for any application its equipment may face, Maxim Crane has nearly 1,000 tower sections for its 300 to 400 meter-ton class hammerhead cranes and 150 segments for its 500-ton designs. The company also made a significant investment in 80 tower sections to cover its four luffing jib and flat top cranes, so they could be used on high rise applications.
In reference to the luffing jib and flat top cranes, Hyden acknowledged, “we had excessive inventory for such a small number of cranes.” The company frequently sat on excess inventory, waiting for a job that required maximum free standing height.
A recent purchase of two new Terex SK575-32 hammerhead tower cranes enabled Maxim Crane to put to use both the transfer masts and unused heavy duty tower segments. Prior to Terex Transfer Mast introduction, Maxim Crane would have been required to purchase the crane plus 10 tower sections.
However the new masts gave the company a second option.
“We had 40 unused luffing jib tower segments,” said Hyden. “Purchasing the transfer masts allowed us to use those towers with the new cranes, so we could more efficiently use our inventory and save money on the crane purchase price.”
The new hammerhead cranes were put to work on a hospital construction project in Cincinnati, Ohio. The 550,000 sq. ft. Mercy West Hospital expansion covers 60 acres of land located on North Ben Road, near Interstate 74 in Green Township. The $200 million structure includes 250 patient beds, comprehensive heart care with open heart surgery, a cancer center, family birthing center and orthopedics center.
Standard maximum freestanding height for the Terex SK575-32 with Cincinnati’s 45 mph in-service and 94 mph out-of-service wind load ratings is 214 ft. (65 m) under hook. This is ample height for the 200-ft. (61 m) crane requirement at Mercy West for the general lift, concrete bucket, precast concrete and rebar lifting requirements.
In addition, when the need arises, the ability to incorporate the robust tower sections of the luffing jib and flat top crane designs enables Maxim Crane to reach higher with its hammerhead cranes.
“We can get an additional 80 feet to sometimes 100 feet of freestanding height by mixing tower sections with the transfer masts,” said Hyden.
These masts give Maxim Crane an advantage in coastal states like Florida, where wind-load requirements are much more stringent. Crews are helping to construct a six-story parking garage with three Terex hammerhead cranes equipped with the transfer masts in Coral Gables, Fla.
With the state’s 146 mph wind-load standards, maximum standard freestanding height for the crane is 100 ft. (30.5 m). By incorporating the transfer masts so that the heavy duty HD23-26.6 tower sections can be used at the tower base with transitions made to the hammerhead’s conventional TS213.1 and TS212.1 towers, crane maximum freestanding height is extended to 140 ft. (42.6 m).
This additional capacity, Hyden explained, is critical on applications like the parking structure, where the cranes overlap. The ramp’s 80-ft. (24 m) height requires a crane with a minimum 100-ft. under-hook height. The other two cranes have to be set to a freestanding height higher than the first to accommodate for the overlap. Maximum crane height on the job totals 140 ft., allowing all three cranes to free stand.
“Before, we had to pass on these types of jobs, since we could only reach 100 feet freestanding height in Florida with our hammerhead cranes,” said Hyden. “By gaining the extra height with the transfer masts and heavy duty tower sections, this has opened up markets that were previously closed to Maxim Crane.”
About the Terex Transfer Masts
Terex HD23-TS212, HD23-TS23, TS23-H20 and TS23-TS21 Transfer Masts are designed to allow crane companies to do more with less. The new masts connect two tower crane systems from Terex and Terex Peiner and Terex Comedil legacy brands to form a new versatile and productive tower crane system. They permit a wide range of combinations using varying tower sections to match application requirements and improve freestanding capabilities. With no need for anchoring collars, the cost-effective masts reduce assembly time, according to the manufacturer.
By using a combination of required components from flat top, luffing jib and hammerhead tower cranes, crane companies can optimize the benefits offered by Terex Tower Cranes. Positioned between two different towers or where possible directly on the lower slewing unit, Terex transfer masts allows crane companies to combine Terex flat top, luffing jib and hammerhead tower segments to increase freestanding capabilities, lower inventory requirements and improve flexibility.
About Maxim Crane
Maxim Crane Works L.P. specializes in the rental and sales of lift equipment. The company’s vast equipment offering includes boom trucks, hydraulic truck, rough terrain, crawler, tower and conventional truck cranes to serve its power, industrial, commercial and telecommunications market segment customers. Offering expansive resources, each of the company’s 30 locations provides management, rigging, engineering, transportation and outsourcing to a customer base throughout the Continental United States.
For more information, visit www.maximcrane.com.
For more information on Terex, visit www.terex.com.
This story also appears on Crane Equipment Guide.
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