Subject: Link-Belt HTC-8675 and HTC-8690

Equipment Owner: All Family of Cranes
Job Location: Atlanta, Ga.

December 1, 2009 – It was a refreshing day in July as cranes from ALL Crane Rental of Georgia, hoisted the entire top, complete with red cap, onto the new, interactive, 49-foot-tall Coca-Cola bottle above left field at the Atlanta Braves’ Turner Field. The Austell, Ga.-based crane company is a member of the ALL Family of Companies, Cleveland, Ohio.

Because of the size of the bottle sections and the layout of Turner Field, two hydraulic truck cranes were required to make the challenging lifts. First, a 75-ton Link-Belt HTC-8675 situated outside the courtyard at Turner Field picked up the sections from the staging area on the street and moved them into position. Then a 90-ton Link-Belt HTC-8690 set the sections in place, successfully overcoming the fact that the lifts were blind lifts—that is, the operator could not see the landing spot over the stadium structure. With the assistance of a flagger, the operator was able to finesse the final picks.

The tight layout of the job wasn’t a problem, according to the company, because it had the right cranes for the job and expert rigging. “It’s another example of our ‘No Job Too Tough’ philosophy,” said Jesse Irwin, ALL Georgia sales representative.

The new, three-dimensional polycarbonate bottle replaces the original 42-foot Coca-Cola Sky Field bottle that graced the ballpark for 12 years and was retired in July 2009. Now it features a fully programmable, high-resolution screen in the area where the label would be. The bottle’s framework incorporates 3,000 light-emitting diodes that can create 16 million colors, and the excitement continues as fireworks pour out of the top after each Braves home run and winning game.