It’s like a well choreographed pick and roll: a two-crane tandem lift requires experience and expertise to perform. The general contractor for American Electric Power’s (AEP) John E. Amos Plant, one of the world’s largest coal-fired generating stations, chose ALL Crane & Equipment Rental Corp. of Nitro, W.V., to enable the transfer of a transformer from the John E. Amos Plant to an AEP substation in Lynchburg, Va., to replace a failing transformer there. Detailed planning, close cooperation between crane company and customer, ALL’s 3-D Lift Plan software, experienced crane operators and two massive hydraulic all terrain (AT) cranes made it possible.
ALL Crane & Equipment Rental supplied a Grove GMK7550 AT crane (550 tons) and a Liebherr LTM 1500-8.1 (600 tons) for the two-crane pick to lift and load the transformer in Morgans Landing, W.V., onto a trailer and then a rail car to be transferred to AEP’s Joshua Falls substation in Lynchburg, where the process would be reversed. The total load weighed 332,900 pounds. The GMK7550 is the Grove’s largest mobile AT crane, and the LTM 1500-8.1 is the second largest mobile crane in the ALL fleet.
In the complex pick, the cranes lifted the transformer together and then the 550-ton crane let the load down slightly to hang at a 45-degree angle. At that point, the 600-ton unit was holding the total weight of the load. The 550-ton crane then picked up the load to a level position and both cranes lowered the transformer onto its side on a 40-foot-long, nine-axle trailer, which transported the transformer through the plant to be loaded onto a waiting rail car. The same two cranes performed the lift in reverse at the destination in Lynchburg.
Not many crane rental companies have the ability or depth of fleet to handle these complicated jobs. ALL Crane & Equipment Rental is a member of the ALL Erection & Crane Rental Corp. Family of Companies, one of North America’s largest privately held crane rental and sales companies, with 34 branches in the United States and Canada. Nearly 50 years of continuous growth have given the company a bounty of resources to draw upon, including one of North America’s largest and most modern fleets, generations of experienced leadership and dedicated personnel throughout the enterprise who are known for their professionalism and problem-solving expertise, safety record and standards of excellence.
The company’s strength also lies in its shared knowledge and expertise, a shared fleet and its documented history of machine maintenance and behavior, and a shared data management system that allows full access to job details and procedures by all appropriate personnel. This collective knowledge is just one reason why ALL is the choice of leaders in all of the industries it serves.
The ALL Family of Companies offers long-term or daily equipment rentals, new and used crane sales, parts and 24/7 service. The company’s legacy of knowledge and experience is furthered through continual skills and safety training, and an unwavering commitment to safety on the job and on the road. That is ALL — a North American lift leader.
For more information, visit www.allcrane.com or call (800) 232-4100.
