Hird machinery moving team stays cool despite lift challenge
One of Hird’s new Valla V Series cranes proved its worth carrying and lifting a 6.1t refrigeration unit at a food processing plant that had been previously recommended a much BIGGER solution.
Following a site visit, Hird Technical Manager Jake Coulman, the project’s Appointed Person, proposed using a Valla V180RC mini crane on the lift in Thetford, Norfolk.
That was a relief for the site management team, because another lifting contractor had advised the factory roof would have to be removed and the unit lifted in with a 500t mobile crane.
Valla V crane – best solution
Jake Coulman said: “Valla pick and carry cranes are specifically designed to overcome space limitations in industrial environments. However, lifting companies that don’t use them regularly can overlook this.
“In this case, putting a Valla V Series pick and carry crane at the heart of the lift plan, supported by other machinery moving techniques, was the most cost-effective, quickest and most sustainable solution.”
Hird was brought in to scope the moving project, then carry out the lift, by the refrigeration installation specialist. The client was well aware of the Hird team’s expertise and the capabilities of Valla cranes.
The battery electric Valla V180RC mini crane was used to lift the CO2 refrigeration pack, which was 6.2m long, 1.45m wide and 2.1m tall, from the delivery truck.
The crane then carried the load along a narrow access route between two factory buildings to the location of an external mezzanine service deck.
Wireless remote control
The Valla V180RC mini crane can be driven and controlled from its cab. For this project, though, given the constrained space involved, the crane operator used a wireless remote control unit.
This allowed him to stand in precisely the right place to view the crane and load, and the set down location on the mezzanine deck, optimising the safety of the lift.
Once the refrigeration pack was set down, it could be raised with mechanical lifting jacks. The tines of a pallet truck were then moved beneath the load, and the load was moved to its installation location.
The same process was used for another lift, of ancillary items weighing 2t. In both cases, a maximum lift height of 7m and a maximum radius of 4m were needed to complete the lifts.
The Hird machinery moving team still had time to replace a compressor in the same machine room, using an A-frame Porta-Gantry with a maximum safe working load (SWL) of 2t.
Machinery moving from Hird
Hird is one of the most experienced national machinery removal and installation specialists in the UK, working across all sectors, including data centres, factories, dockyards, heavy engineering plants and aerospace sites.
A key strength is its expertise across all aspects of lifting. Hird operates its own mobile cranes, as well as one of the UK’s largest fleets of industrial pick and carry cranes.
The company’s Valla pick and carry cranes are ideal for lifting in highly-controlled, regulated and clean spaces, such as food factories, precision manufacturing plants and petrochemical sites.
Hird provides trained personnel to ensure that its machine moving services comply with BS7121 Safe Use of Cranes, PUWER and LOLER regulations.
Hird’s Valla V Series advantage
Hird’s Valla V180RC pick and carry crane has a maximum SWL of 18t, a maximum working height of 12.5m (max SWL: 10.8t) and a maximum radius of 8.1m (max SWL: 4.2t).
The mini crane can be used with a fixed hook or a winch and hook block. It also has a hydraulic fly jib, which extends the maximum working height to over 14m and the maximum radius to 10m.
As an electric pick and carry crane, with non-marking tyres, it does not create any emissions and provides near-silent operation, making it ideal for indoor and outdoor working, or a combination of both.
As with all mini cranes in Hird’s Valla V Series range, the Valla V180RC is also incredibly compact, being just 1980mm wide (less than a mid-sized SUV), 2015mm high, with a chassis that is 4784mm long.
Hird operates the largest Valla V Series pick and carry crane hire fleet in Europe, so can use the cranes for machinery moving projects with SWLs from 3.6t to 21t, along with a full range of Valla E Series mini cranes from 2t to 25t.
Find out more
Talk to Hird about our machinery moving services. We will carry out a free, no-obligation site survey before every lifting project.
Email: [email protected]. Telephone: 01482 227333.