Manitowoc says that two of its cranes have installed a 443-foot wind tower outside the Cleveland headquarters of Lincoln Electric, a provider of arc welding and a long-term supplier to the wind tower industry.
A Manitowoc 16000 crawler crane and a Grove GMK5120B all-terrain crane were chosen to erect the 2.5 MW turbine. Both units belong to All Erection & Crane Rental Corp.
The first task on the project was off-loading and erecting the four tower sections from the delivery trucks. These 70-ton sections were lifted and then walked into position by the Model 16000, with the GMK5120B providing tailing support.
With the tower sections installed, the cranes then worked together to install the 99-ton nacelle and drivetrain. Finally, three rotor blades were bolted together at the ground level before the entire 64-ton assembly was carefully lifted into place.
A third crane, a RT530E-2 from Grove's rough-terrain range, was also used in the early stages of construction for land preparation.
The wind turbine will provide up to 10% of the energy used at Lincoln Electric's manufacturing plant, Manitowoc adds.
