A Liebherr LTM 1750-9.1 all-terrain crane from Jeffers Crane Service recently showed off its efficiency at an Ohio refinery. In the midst of a $300 million capital improvement project, a number of general contractors are working at the location simultaneously. Many are serviced by Jeffers, a member of The ALL Family of Companies.
The plant is over 100 years old, and the sheer size of today's equipment can be an issue -- more so when the facility is active. "The refinery remains operational -- we're essentially building a new refinery inside live units," said Martin Bowman, Jeffers branch manager.
The huge crane's 900-ton capacity and extreme mobility slashed time on the job. In a two-week span, the LTM 1750 easily traveled between turnaround work on a sulfur block and major construction of a new vacuum furnace. Jeffers was able to spec the LTM 1750-9.1 because ALL owns one of the few in North America.
"It took weeks to do what would have taken months with a crawler," said Bowman. "Typically, we would not have been able to flow between tasks so easily."
The two weeks began with scheduled turnaround work at the sulfur block. After the first lift, materials needed for the second and third lifts were delayed. While the contractor awaited delivery, it was decided to move the LTM 1750 to where a new vacuum furnace would be built by another contractor. A significant decision, the move was agreed upon by the two contractors, both customers of Jeffers, for the ultimate benefit of the refinery's owner.
Work on the vacuum furnace included installing the convection section and setting the stack. The convection section involved three lifts: the lower convection section (190,000 pounds), the upper (135,000 pounds) and the transfer section (42,000 pounds).
The LTM 1750 put the crew closer to the work than a lattice-boom crawler could have, a big benefit in the tight space. Lift site prep and materials were minimized, and assembly and disassembly time was eliminated.
Setting the stack required lifting a 120- foot, 134,000-pound stack 80 feet in the air. To set the stack as a single, prefabricated piece, the LTM 1750 was outfitted with 89 feet of main boom and a 62-foot extension, plus a 69-foot luffing jib.
"Having the 1750 on site allowed the contractor to consider prefabricating the stack so we could set it as one piece," said Bowman. "They knew we could handle the weight and hook height needed to maintain a 200-foot elevation."
The furnace work took eight days, after which the parts for the turnaround work arrived and the LTM 1750 was moved back to the sulfur block.
"I can't imagine how much money we saved by running the 1750 from contractor to contractor," said Bowman. "It was so efficient. We would have needed two separate crawlers to do these jobs, and it would have taken significantly longer."
For more information, visit www.allcrane.com or call (800) 232-4100.
