The name change from "Terex Demag" to "Tadano Demag" took visible form on September 7th. More specifically, the signage on the high-bay warehouse at Dinglerstraße was replaced and all instances of the "Terex" logo were changed to "Tadano", and all with a Demag crane — as befits the company, of course.

It was pretty much forgettable work for the Demag crane, at least in terms of the load's weight — after all, the five-axle unit only had to deal with a man basket, two people in it, and the plastic signs, all coming up to a total of 441 lbs. on the hook.

"When it comes to us as a company, however, there was nothing forgettable about getting this done. In fact, it carried enormous significance in that it represented the beginning of a new era in our company history," Plant Manager Ulrich Strieder said.

And it goes without saying, of course, that a Demag crane was the only way to get it done: The crane was provided by Steil Kranarbeiten, and it only took two hours to drive it from the branch office in Saarwellingen to Zweibrücken.

Work at Dizzying Heights

The crane was equipped with a 197 ft. (60-m) main boom (plus a jib) and 37.2 t (33.8-t) counterweight for the job, enabling it to work at the required radius of up to 184 ft. (56 m). Moreover, the weather was absolutely splendid, making it possible for the crane operator and the driver of the supporting truck to set up and configure the crane on the parking lot in front of the high-bay warehouse in a mere two hours.

Once everything was ready to go, it was up and into the air for the two installers from the signage company, who first removed the old signs one by one at a height of 65.6 ft. (20 m) before installing the new ones. This, of course, required proper coordination with the crane operator, which was done by radio. In total, the procedure took around 25 lifts before the blue and black Tadano logo completely graced the high-bay warehouse by the end of the day.

Safety First!

"This was a smooth start into the new era," Strieder said. After all, lifts with man baskets require special preparation. However, industrial climbing, which would have theoretically been a simpler option, was out of the question due to the lack of anchoring options on the high-bay warehouse's roof, leaving the use of a man basket as the only way to get the job done.

In order to make sure that the two installers would be safe while working, they worked with safety harnesses at all times and the crane was equipped with an emergency lowering system that would make it possible to safely lower the basket in the event of a crane malfunction.

Strieder is happy with how the "signage replacement" project went.

"Now any visitor will be able to tell that we're well on our way to a bright future under the Tadano umbrella from far away — a milestone in the road ahead for us and our customers."

This story also appears on Crane Equipment Guide.

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