On the small Pacific island of Guam, a Grove all-terrain crane recently helped construct a federal GSA building, which will house federal employees working in that U.S. territory.
Yigo-based company Smithbridge chose the Grove GMK5275 to handle the important work. The company unloaded precast wall panels onto the job site before placing them around the perimeter of the building.
Rick Schmidtke, crane and heavy equipment superintendent for Smithbridge, said the GMK5275 was an ideal tool for the job.
“We chose the GMK5275 for this project because of its reach and capacity,” he said. “It was equipped with 56 USt (51 t) of counterweight, and we relied on the 21 USt (19 t) heavy jib to erect precast panels into vertical position.”
The wall panels ranged from 17 USt (15 t) to 20 USt (18 t) in weight, which were easily lifted by the 275 USt (220 t) capacity crane. The panels were 40 ft (12 m) by 10 ft (3 m) in size, and were lifted just a few feet off of the ground to be placed.
Precast stairs were also lifted and placed into position for the building – this required lifting the stairs over the top of the building’s structure. The GMK5275’s seven-section, 223 ft (68 m) MEGAFORM boom with TWIN-LOCK boom pinning provided ample reach for the lifts.
The crane’s MEGATRAK independent suspension and fully-automatic Allison transmission were key benefits on the job site, as the building was being constructed on fresh ground. Outrigger pads that measured 7 ft (2 m) by 7 ft (2 m) were utilized to stabilize the crane before lifting. Precast erection of Guam’s new GSA building lasted just over a week.
“We find the Grove all-terrain cranes to be efficient and reliable mobile cranes, especially for their price range,” Schmidtke said. “Also, the service support from Grove is extremely good.”
Fontana, Calif.-based Western Pacific Crane & Equipment is providing product support for the GMK5275. The company is an affiliate of the Lanco Group of Companies, and sells and supports cranes from the Manitowoc, Grove and National Crane product ranges.
“Western Pacific provides us excellent service and support,” Schmidtke said.
Smithbridge was founded in 1964 and serves the equipment rental, bridge and wharf construction industries, among others. The company offers an extensive crane and construction equipment fleet, including tower cranes, all-terrain cranes and more.