In 1945, Perry B. Hanson started his Minneapolis, Minn., crane company with an H-3 Bucyrus-Erie crane and clamshell buckets to dig and set underground storage tanks.
Nearly 70 years later, Hanson’s Rocket Crane Service, Inc., has several new Link-Belt cranes, including an ATC-3275 all-terrain crane the company purchased in early 2013, just before Perry Hanson retired. Today, the company is run by his two sons, Paul and Pat.
“Even though we got it primarily for the 275-ton capacity, the 3275 can also be rented as a lower capacity 165-ton, 200-ton, or even a 250-ton crane. We did not have that capability before,” explains Pat Hanson.
Recently at Northern Metals Recycling Company, St. Paul, Minn., Hanson put the ATC-3275 to work relocating a 140,000-lb. Metso Lindemann LS600 steel shear from its temporary location to a new stationary site at the recycling facility.
The 3275 allowed a change in the original plans -- making a tandem lift using two cranes and a truck -- since space at the recycling facility was limited. According to Paul Hanson, “It’s tough to work with multiple pieces of equipment in a smaller space. One crane capable of the lift is better in a confined area, and eliminates a tricky tandem lift that would have to be done several times to get the shear to its final destination.”
Other concerns were soft, uneven, sloping ground and the imbalance of the large shear with its extended 15-ft. cylinder. The load was eventually rated at 144,000 lbs. rigged, and swung at a 30-ft. radius. Once the shear was set onto reinforced concrete piles with embedded steel plates, it could be properly powered, maintained, stabilized and leveled for long-term use. The shear's 5,400-psi strength can cut 3-in.-thick steel into 2- to 4-ft. lengths, for example rebar or demolished bridge steel.
Lift & Access is part of the Catalyst Communications Network publication family.
