Airin’ Sludge

Plant work often requires large, high-capacity cranes because lifting is needed in a hard-to-reach spot. The big lift equipment sets up far away, extends a long boom, and reaches over anything standing in the way.

In this regard, new construction can bring some relief. Smaller (and less expensive) cranes are able to set up closer to the work zone and get the job done relatively quickly.

This was the case with the city of Canton, Georgia, and the $70 million expansion of its Water Pollution Control Plant. This project, the largest capital improvement in the city's history, will increase the plant's capacity by 50%, enabling it to handle six million gallons of wastewater per day. It’s necessary for a growing community seeing an uptick across all aspects of construction—residential, commercial, and industrial. Each brings more people to the region and puts additional strain on resources.

Reeves Young, general contractor, tabbed ALL Crane Rental of Georgia, a member of the ALL Family of Companies, to provide heavy lift equipment for a crucial part of the expansion project. T.J. Sokolowski, sales manager for ALL Crane Rental of Georgia, says his team specified a Liebherr LTM 1160-5.1 all-terrain crane, which was tasked with picking and setting a variety of new equipment related to the treatment of sludge. New components included a sludge dryer, hopper, and module, as well as pump manifolds and a belt filter press.

The heaviest piece, the sludge hopper, weighed in at 32,000 pounds. The 190-ton capacity crane was configured with 108 feet of main boom at 64 feet of radius and 102,500 pounds of counterweight for all lifts.

“Here, we had the luxury of setting up right next to the concrete foundation that had recently been poured,” said Sokolowski. “We were able to use full outriggers on the crane as well.” This is different from many plant projects in which Liebherr’s VarioBase system plays an important role. It enables each outrigger to be set independently and is often employed in the space limitations experienced in traditional plant work.

The Liebherr LTM 1160-5.1 picked the various sludge treatment equipment directly off the flatbeds, delivering them. “The trucks had a more difficult time reaching the area than the crane did,” said Sokolowski. “With its multi-axles, the AT easily maneuvered into position. It was not so easy for the trucks, which had to deliver deep into the property on narrow roads.”

The LTM 1160 is equipped with multiple advance steering options, including crab steering. When in crab steering mode, one of the five selectable steering programs, all axles are steered in the same direction, allowing the crane to move diagonally. “This is an amazing feat when navigating narrow or congested plant construction sites,” added Sokolowski.

Due to strategic scheduling by Reeves Young, new equipment to be lifted arrived at the site in rapid succession. Because of this, the AT picked and set everything in a little over a week. “It’s a shorter duration for this type of work,” said Sokolowski. “The crane executed each pick and set and aided in leveling. Final alignments and grouting were completed after the crane was disassembled and removed from the site.”