Wells Concrete crews have completed their portion of work on an addition to Mullins Cheese plant in Knowlton, Wis. Already the largest family owned and operated cheese factory in Wisconsin, according to the company Web site, the new addition is set to further expand the company. Precast installation began last July and the field services crew stayed on schedule, sometimes working beyond a normal workweek, to complete the job in January. Included in precast construction were 1,213 concrete pieces that were hauled to the job site and installed.

Although the project was no more challenging for the field crew than any other project, certain obstacles needed to be overcome including sequencing the product with the overall project schedule to avoid additional mobilization costs. Stainless steel installation and the precast installation utilized the same crane, a Manitowoc 14000 supplied by Hayden-Murphy Equipment Company, which added to the coordination effort. There also were multiple rigging scenarios for both the stainless steel and precast in coordinating around tanks and equipment. In addition, crews installed precast up to 100 ft. (30.5 m) in the air during winter weather conditions. Each level of structure required crews to leave panels out for access and installed later.

The Manitowoc 14000, a 220-ton (199 t) capacity crawler crane with 292 ft. (89 m) of boom, was essential during the project. A 170 ft. (51.8 m) luffing jib, along with a 60 ft. (18 m) fixed jib, allows a total combination of 424 ft. (129 m) for added reach. It features the EPIC control system and CAN-bus technology, and utilizes the FACT connection system for easy set-up.

“The Manitowoc 14000 is one of our most trust-worthy and site-tested crawler cranes, and it has appeared on job sites all over the globe,” said Ingo Noeske, global product director of Manitowoc lattice-boom crawler cranes. “It falls right in the middle size of our crawler crane lineup, offering customers strong reach and capacity, but with a compact footprint for maneuverability on the job site.”