When Sarens was tasked to carry out a series of challenging lifts at the Ramagundam Fertiliser Plant in India, the company imported its Demag CC 8800-1 lattice boom crawler crane all the way from Greece to get the job done.
Commissioned by the RFCL (Ramagundam Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd), through the project’s EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contractor, Bridge and Roof Company Ltd, Sarens was responsible for lifting heavy equipment at the construction of the Ramagundam Fertiliser Plant.
The project involves the construction of a new ammonia plant and a urea plant with capacities of 2,200 t/day and 3,850 t/day respectively, as well as developing an ancillary offsite and utility facilities. In total, around US$750 million (INR 50 billion) is planned to be invested into the project, which is scheduled for completion in late 2018/ early 2019. It is expected to produce 1.12 mil t of urea annually.
Upon reviewing the project, Sarens quickly determined it would take a large crane, like its 1,600-t Demag CC 8800-1 crawler crane to complete the job. For the first, and one of the most challenging lifts, Sarens needed to lift a 425-t urea reactor into place. The company then shipped the CC 8800-1 to the Mumbai port, and transported it to the site using multiple trucks.
To help set up the crane, Sarens also deployed a Demag CC 2800-1 lattice boom crawler crane. The company was able to safely assemble the machine in just seven days, despite facing space limitations.
The 425-t urea reactor measured 53 m in length and 3.8 m in diameter. To perform the lift, the reactor was upended with the Demag CC 8800-1 crane in an SSL 84/72 configuration at a lift radius of 24 m. The CC 2800-1 assist crane was used in an SSL 54 configuration.
After lifting the reactor, the CC 8800-1 crane operator slowly slewed and walked the heavy load into position. The 20-member crew battled rain, area constraints and narrow plant roads to complete the project’s first erection safely and within the target schedule.
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