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Unique crane used on $500M Ritz-Carlton hotel construction

A unique crane has been used by a lifting company to help construct a $500 million hotel in Perth.

WA Universal Rigging and Cranes was selected to perform a series of lifts as part of the construction of the new Ritz-Carlton hotel.

The company required a crane that would have the reach to access the hotel roof, but also the capacity to manage the lifts and compact dimensions to fit into a restricted space.

WA Universal Rigging and Cranes General Manager Aaron Holding said space was extremely limited on the construction site, meaning a crane was needed that could handle lifts of over 100 metres.

“Smaller 300 tonne cranes were too small to handle the lifts and larger cranes were too big for the space available,” he said.

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The company used a 400-tonne capacity Grove GMK6400 all-terrain crane to perform the lifts. The crane’s main boom is 60 metres and features an optional self-rigging Mega Wing Lift attachment to provide additional capacity when needed.

For the project, the crane was configured to have a 54.6 metre main boom and a 55-metre luffing fly jib, along with a 75-tonne counterweight. It worked for nine and a half hours across multiple lifts, including the removal of a 3.5 tonne mini crawler at a radius of 42 metres and a height of 90 metres.

“It took us 5.5 hours to set up the GMK6400 and in some instances clearance from the building was as low as 10 mm,” Holding said.

“Even though there were extreme space challenges, where we had to avoid the Ritz Carlton’s existing landscaping and façade, setting up the GMK6400 was relatively easy and smooth.”

The six-star Ritz Carlton hotel is scheduled for completion in mid-2019 and will occupy a 28-storey tower and feature 205 rooms along with residential apartments.

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