“We have focused on key rental companies in each major Australian region and there are now Jarlway tower cranes operating in Queensland, Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Tasmania,” said Steve.
“When you operate a rental crane business, you are always examining ways to improve the erection and dismantling of your cranes. Evolving techniques lead to quicker assembly and disassembly processes and procedures as well as make improvements to the way we transport the cranes’ components. Jarlway has listened to customer feedback and made changes to the way they engineer their cranes to ensure these efficiencies are now built into the design of the crane,” he said.
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Negotiating ‘Air Rights’ issues have been very challenging for rental companies, with many builders not addressing the issue of obtaining permissions from neighbouring properties until the last minute. When permission doesn’t come, a change of crane design is often the only solution. Hardiquip had one such scenario with a project in Bondi Junction.
“The site was only 7.5m wide and 30m from front to back, and buildings on all three boundaries were owned by the same entity who had wanted the development site for themselves. They were refusing to allow our customer to impede into their airspace,” said Steve.
“There was nowhere to locate a tower crane onsite where no part of the crane would cross the site boundaries. We worked with Jarlway to come up with a crane design with a short rear deck, a 32m jib, and engineered to park its jib with an out of service radius of 2.2m. That model is the JTL55B6 and Hardiquip has five of these units working on Sydney sites and three more on order,” he said.
Jarlway has a solid line up of roof top and derrick type tower cranes designed for the recovery and dismantle of the primary tower crane which has completed a building. Jarlway works with Hontrade of Hong Kong to constantly improve design to make the recovery of tower cranes the easiest process it can be. They have come up with a combination of machines that became the choice for Melbourne company GTC engineering for the complicated recovery of their Favco.
GTC Engineering is a family owned business providing specialised lifting solutions to the construction industry. Services provided include the supply of tower cranes, erection and dismantle and the supply of stiff legs and small rooftop cranes. Services also include 10 plus 25 year inspections, and upgrades of equipment. Depending on the project, GTC’s team operates 24/7.
The business was formed 25 years ago by Gavin Butler.
“We have fully qualified tradesmen in the office and on the shop floor. Our riggers are trade qualified and hold extensive certifications pertaining to the work they carry out. All work is thoroughly tested before leaving the workshop. All relevant, non-destructive testing and mechanical inspections are provided.
Gavin has worked with Steve Hardiman of Hardiquip in the past, erecting and dismantling cranes.
“Steve and I have always kept in contact, passing on details of the different projects we are working on. In our experience Steve has provided a second to none service and he and his team delivered during our recent experience with the recent project involving the Jarlway product.
“Our Favelle Favco PC20 was erected to dismantle Caelli Construction’s Favelle Favco M225D PC20 which had internally climbed in the core of the project. The PC20 then completed the remainder of the works on the structure and façade.
“The developer then decided to utilise the roof as a bar and restaurant to harness the outstanding city views. This posed a new difficulty in the recovery process. Engineers had proposed the use of the Favelle M50R, but the new structure posed a number of difficulties with this solution,” said Gavin.
With the structure being 115 metres high and the adjoining property approximately 170 meters high, the vortex created between the two buildings would be too great at street level. The adjoining property also had a canopy, which only left a gap of eight metres.
“This made it difficult for us to ensure we could get the lifts down with minimal damage to windows and structure at street level. We considered using an LTM 1650, but the lifting capacity at the radius required meant it wasn’t suitable and it was also a very expensive option. We then considered using the M50R with an LTM 1450 to dual lift the boom. Risk, timing and inconvenience on the ground caused a serious rethink,” said Gavin.
Gavin approached Steve from Hardiquip for details of the Jarlway JTD3025 and JTD15 and the detailed information Steve returned looked feasible for the project.
“In-house we developed auto-CAD drawings, which confirmed it might just work. Engineers Robert Bird and Byron Mercer worked with GTC to undertake an engineering assessment based on the loadings and the data provided. Iconco were then approached with the new proposal which they needed to consider and approve,” said Gavin.
Once this happened the orders for the two units were placed with HardiQuip and the process began. The engineers began detailing the initial grillage that used the W.S.L bar anchors, previously installed for the M50R. This grillage then utilised the cruciform supplied by Jarlway.
Using the PC20 Favelle, the Jarlway 3025 was erected and commissioned. Timing was critical. The boom was installed on the JTD 3025 and both cranes were tethered opposing each other to avoid the booms clashing overnight.
The next morning the green sticker process was undertaken on the Jarlway and the dismantling began. The hoist rope was run off back onto the hoist drum. The tip of the PC20 was laid down, holding pennants attached and the Jarlway connected with luff rope runoff to receiving reel.
“From previous photos, we knew this was the centre of the lift. An allowance included to have the boom tip slightly
tip heavy. Pins were removed and the tip was removed and placed on the roof and re-slung to travel to the ground vertically.
The box section was slung off the boom, and the cleviss to be similarly removed vertically,” said Gavin.
The Burr section was also slung off the cleviss and came down vertically. The following day the A-frame power pack and deck, and tower were removed. The next day the VSL bars were distressed, grillage and grout removed and the grillage for the STD15 installed.
The building did not have sufficient power for the 3025, meaning a generator was required. A small stripped down generator that could fit in the lift, go through the standard doorways, with a remote fuel cell and quiet muffler, plus an exhaust pipe that carried the fumes away was installed. The JTD15, Derrick, was then erected, powered up and commissioned.
“One of the great features of both of these Jarlway units is the ability they have to dismantle themselves. This was clearly a big advantage to us. Tom Butler and Steve Hardiman had visited Jarlway’s facility in China and witnessed the processes first hand, and gained vital knowledge of the capabilities of both units,” said Gavin.
“Being able to lower components 150 metres is a huge advantage. It only left us with a minimal amount of lifts with our davit to get down to lift level. The service information and follow up by HardiQuip was second to none, and our client was extremely happy with the outcome. Thanks to all involved,” he said.
By the end of 2024 Jarlway will have its first hydraulic luffing crane tested.
