Construction of a new 216,000 sq. ft. (20 0067 sq. m) warehouse required Extreme Steel Crane & Rigging, Inc. of Warrenton, Virginia to place 191 precast concrete panels. The 900 ft. (274 m) long by 240 ft. (73 m) wide warehouse is being built at the Richmond Airport Distribution Complex in Henrico, Virginia by Becknell Industrial (Becknell), a developer specializing in industrial properties. Becknell anticipates an influx of cargo to the Virginia State Capitol in the coming years and will be prepared to receive goods at the 17 plus acre site with the construction of a pre-cast concrete facility with 20 dock doors, 25 tractor trailer stalls, and a 60 ft. (18 m) loading bay.
In order to lift and place the 27,000 lb. (12 247 kg) panels, which measure 8 ft. (2.4 m) wide and up to 38 ft. (11.6 m) tall, the company used a 210-ton (185-mt) Link-Belt ATC-3210 all-terrain crane.
On average, the Extreme Steel Crane & Rigging Inc. crew lifts and places 12 panels each day. To help rotate the slabs, crane operator David Haley uses the 12 ft. (3.7 m) heavy lift stowable fly, and a two-line, one load lift procedure that comes standard on the Link-Belt ATC-3210. The fly is rated at 34 tons of capacity.
“The fly on here works great! Before, we would have had two lines over the main head sheaves which means the blocks would get too close and hit or banged up against each other. This fly makes the procedure so much easier because it keeps your lines separated. It’s nice and quicker for me with less line entanglement,” explains operator David Haley.
The radius for lifting the concrete slabs ranges from 40 to 70 feet (12.2 to 21.3 m) with the boom extended anywhere from 135 to 168 ft. (41.1 to 51.2 m).
“We bought this 3210, a 100-ton truck (HTC-86100) and a 300-ton HC-278 HII all in the last year and a half from Link-Belt because that really fits our range of needs. You can always rent down with the tonnage of crane capacity when we have the Link-Belt machines.
