Capital City Group (A Bay Crane Company) recently moved a 25-ton chiller at the Honda Plant in East Liberty, OH, maneuvering the load through a louver opening on the building's second floor.
Bay Crane provides specialized transportation & rigging solutions, operated and bare crane rentals, and equipment sales through facilities located throughout the Northeastern United States.
With cranes up to 1,500-ton capacity, this 25-ton move was certainly not large by Bay Crane's standards, but it presented several challenges requiring a well considered and customized approach. Read on to learn how Capital City got the job done using their Hydra-Slide LP350 skidding system.
Bay Crane was recently contracted to receive a new 25-ton chiller from its manufacturer and bring it inside the Honda plant in East Liberty, OH. Hauling the chiller to site on a lowboy trailer and handling it outdoors by crane were business as usual for Bay Crane's rigging crew, but to get the machine inside the plant required some careful planning.
Bay Crane's rigging crew opted to bring the chiller through an existing louver opening to minimize downtime and disruption for the plant. To accomplish this, the rigging crew constructed an engineered free-standing platform to match the elevation of the louver opening. They then set up their LP350 skidding system across the platform and into the plant's second floor. This allowed the crew to set the chiller onto the skidding system with a crane and simply slide it a short distance into the building.
The plan required precision and skill, as the 11'9.5"-tall chiller only had 2.5" of clearance through the 12'2" louver opening. The LP350 was a great choice here- the system has a working height of just 1.5".
The move was a success, and Bay Crane's Jack Heckman emphasized that this plan was the most economical and least disruptive to plant operations. "If we were not able to use the skidding system," Heckman said, "we would have had to either make the louver opening larger, or remove the roof of the building." Either option would have added more time and cost to the project.
"The skidding system was the most economical and least intrusive option for this project.
If we had not been able to utilize the skidding system, we would have had to either make the opening larger or remove the roof of the building.
Steel roof joists & sheet metal would have needed to be removed, refabricated, and reinstalled, creating more costs and more downtime for the customer."
-Jack Heckman, Bay Crane Midwest
Bay Crane has been a valued Hydra-Slide customer for over 10 years, and they're a great example of a versatile and innovative rigging and heavy haul operator with a variety of solutions to fit any project need.
Their most common application for hydraulic skidding comes from setting transformers where overhead powerlines are present, and other situations where it's simply not feasible to use a crane. This job illustrates how having a skidding system on hand gives a rigging crew more options to choose from, so they can work as safely, simply, and cost-effectively as possible.
In addition to the LP350 system that Bay Crane employs, we offer two other options for moves requiring a low profile: the XLP150 system, and the XLP30 system. We designed each system to be versatile, portable, and easy to use, ready for all kinds of jobs.
Bay Crane emphasizes that safety is the number one priority, and it's crucial to have a variety of means and methods to suit the job. At Hydra-Slide, we're proud that they've chosen us as trusted providers for their jack and slide needs.
"Our experience with Hydra-Slide has been great," said Heckman. "Within our entire company, we use Hydra-Slide equipment on a daily basis. It's at the forefront of our arsenal, and really sets us apart from our competitors."
Get in touch to discuss your specific situation with us - we love to explore solutions for the most challenging moves.
