Crane operations - our machines in action.

Back in February, the BKL Süd team supported the construction of a container facility as a State Hospital School at Schwabing Hospital with a bespoke turnkey package of services: from lifting work to transport, logistics and the assembly of all modules. Among other things, confined space, extra-wide modules, limited time and a crane site in the flight path of the air rescue service made the job challenging.

Before assembly, the container structure in Messestadt Riem first had to be dismantled. The mobile crane experts relied on an LTM 1150-5.3 to lift the 16 metre long modules onto the low-loaders. This required perfect logistics, as the trucks could only manoeuvre into the construction site one at a time, even at their destination. For the container transport, the heavy-haulage professionals took care of route inspection, permits, road closures and escorting the special transport with their own BF3 and BF4 vehicles, as the containers were between 3.35 and 3.46 metres wide.

Cost-effective and agile:
BKL crane solution for the historic old town.

Narrow streets and closely lined buildings - construction sites in historic old towns require exactly the right crane for the job. This was also the case with the renovation of the former Geyerswörth Castle building in Bamberg, where BKL's crane rental specialists provided the crane solution.

The contracting authority, the Bamberg City Council, placed particular importance on the machine being able to cover all the renovation work required. At the same time, the crane needed to be as compact as possible, both in operation and during transport.

As the most cost-effective crane solution for the customer, BPG Baulogistik Berlin GmbH, the team from BKL Süd chose an 81 K.1 and configured the bottom slewing crane with a hook height of almost 39 metres and a reach of 48 metres. This allows the construction crane to reach all parts of the site and the highest point of the site - a 36 metre high tower. The equipment with automatic centralised lubrication system also ensures easy handling even during the longer standing time during this operation.

When it comes to transport, the fast erection crane is compact and easy to manoeuvre with a length of 16 metres and a width of 2.5 metres. This allowed the BKL assembly team to easily move the crane to the site and position it directly at the building thanks to its small slewing radius of 2.75 metres. This allows the reach to be used optimally and saves space in the narrow inner courtyard.

BKL crane:
Bottom-slewing crane 81 K.1

Image source: Liebherr

Spectacular lift near Lake Ammersee.

In autumn 2021, the mobile crane experts from BKL Munich carried out a very special crane project at the Raisting Radome. An LTM 1650-8.1 lifted a new membrane onto the industrial monument on behalf of ITF Innovative Technical Fabrics GmbH.
The BKL team, headed by Johann Würz, assisted with the preparations over a period of more than a year. An air ring was used to spread the hem of the cover wide over the radome. Thus, the 5,300 square metre membrane offered an enormously large surface for wind impact. Therefore, only a minimum wind speed was allowed for the lift. A challenge for the disposition of the mission! For optimum safety and stability, the mobile crane professionals decided on the LTM 1650-8.1. BKL equipped the mobile crane with 155 tonnes of ballast, 56 metres of luffing jib and Y-guying. This ensured the required hook height of almost one hundred metres and the successful assembly of the new shell.

BKL cranes:
Mobile crane LTM 1650-8.1
Mobile crane LTM 1230-5.1

BKL's tower crane solution for the Terminal 3 construction site.

BKL's tower crane specialists assisted dechant hoch- und ingenieurbau gmbh, which was responsible for the Terminal 3 structural shell, already during the preparatory phase. Using CAD-based planning, they visualised the different crane heights and ensured that they were optimally configured. To create the crane concept, the team capitalised on BKL's versatile rental fleet – from mobile 22-metre bottom-slewing cranes to five flat-top cranes in the 300 tonne-metre category, up to a 1050-tonne metre giant.

The added bonus: the ten mobile fast-erecting BKL System Cattaneo CM 221 cranes cover a greater area as they can be relocated on the building site as required, while the stationary top-slewing cranes make light weight of the heavier loads. Then the 21LC1050 came into play: BKL installed it with a hook height of 53 metres and an 80-metre radius on a 70-metre track system. This enables the 1050-tonne metre crane with a peak load of over 11 tonnes and a maximum load capacity of 50 tonnes to be moved into place.

BKL tower cranes:
Top-slewing cranes: 21LC1050, 21LC750, 630 EC-H 40, 340 EC-B 16
Bottom-slewing cranes:: CM 221

Foto: Boris Golz Fotografie GmbH, www.borisgolz.de

CRANE MEETS CLASSICAL MUSIC.

For an unforgettable musical performance in a height of around 60 metres in January, thinking out of the box was in demand for the Munich mobile crane scheduling department. The special thing about it: At the music performance "Piano Vertical" the Swiss artist Alain Roche combines the soft strains of the piano with the harsh sounds of construction - while he and his instrument are suspended vertically under a moving crane.

The project posed two challenges for BKL's crane experts: overcoming obstacles almost 55 metres high, while ensuring maximum safety, including insurance.
The BKL team's solution was to use an MK 140. Configured with 9 tonnes of additional ballast and 45° angle position, the mobile construction crane achieved the radius of 40 metres and the hook height of 75.5 metres required to lift the artist and his specially adapted piano over the 33 and 54.1-metre buildings.

As BKL was the only crane supplier able to meet the high safety standards of the project, the contract was awarded without further ado. There was just one request from the Whitebox organisers that the team did not fulfil: for safety reasons, the artist was not lifted over the audience, who were sat in deckchairs and equipped with headphones. Nonetheless, with consummate skill, the BKL crane operator still managed to achieve the planned "thrill factor": by slowly swinging Alain Roche right in front of the spectators, he allowed them to get as close to the recital as possible.

Technical drawing (Piano Vertical/ Copyright Alain Roche).

BKL crane:
Mobile construction crane MK 140

Image source:
Ivana Bilz/ Festival Out Of The Box 2020
Ralf Dombrowski/ Festival Out Of The Box 2020

A royal assignment for BKL's fleet of Tower and mobile cranes.

BKL's ingenious Tower crane solution to renovate the facade.
Linderhof is said to have been a favourite castle of King Ludwig II of Bavaria. Surrounded by a magnificent landscape park in the Bavarian Alps, the palace attracts many visitors every year. The extensive mountainous terrain presented a challenge for the crane concept as the sloping site virtually ruled out a standard tower crane assembly. The crane experts therefore opted for a special tower crane combination from BKL's rental fleet. A 90 EC-B with a hook height of 40 metres, a 50-metre radius and a maximum load capacity of 6 tonnes was installed directly behind the Castle to lift the elements, weighing up to 3 tonnes each. For the second crane, the crane specialists deployed a 32 TTR with a hook height of 24 metres, a 30-metre radius and a maximum load of 4 tonnes. Its crawler chassis makes the self-erecting crane suitable for all terrains, enabling it to be set up at the slope.

Full BKL service and teamwork for the disassembly with an LTM 1350-6.1.
Once the renovation work was completed, the mobile crane team from BKL Munich dismantled the top-slewing crane with a Liebherr LTM 1350-6.1 mobile crane, as the most cost-effective alternative. The conditions at site meant, that the mobile crane had to be positioned in front of the palace, while the tower crane, that needed disassembling was behind the building. Therefore, the 350-tonne giant was specially modified to achieve the necessary hook height of 55 metres with a 40-metre radius. In order to lift the required 8.5 tonnes of maximum load, the crane specialists configured the mobile crane with 70 tonnes of ballast, a Y-telescopic boom guying system and a 12-metre extension on the main boom. The auxiliary crane was an 85-tonne-metre loader crane PK 92002-SH, which speeded up the process thanks to its small space requirement and short set-up time.
To avoid disrupting visitors to the palace as far as possible, the project planning, mobile crane and trucks had to be closely coordinated. BKL's highly trained team completed the disassembly and the whole return transport of the cranes in a single day.

BKL cranes:
Top-slewing crane LH 90 EC-B
Fast-erecting crane LH 32TTR
Mobile crane LTM 1350-6.1
Loader crane PK 92002-SH

Origin of photo material: Willi Wilhelm / LIEBHERR

INSTALLATION OF POWER POLES ON E-HIGHWAY, HESSEN.

September 2018, BKL Frankfurt installs power poles for the overhead wiring of the test track for trucks.

As part of the joint project ELISA "Electrified, innovative heavy-duty traffic on motorways", the first german test track for trucks with current collector is established in Hessen. BKL Frankfurt received the order for the assembly of a part of the 231 power poles. A particular challenge were the space conditions at the operating site. In order to prevent the closure of a lane, the crane specialists used the narrow hard shoulder next to the motorway and provided a loader crane instead of a mobile crane, which scores with a lower supporting width and does not swing over the vehicle and thus out into the motorway. The team also transported the masts for the overhead wiring of the test track, which are between 13 and 14 metres long, from the storage place to the construction site.

BKL Cranes: PK 92002 SH on MAN TGS 35.500

Job report by Palfinger

TRANSRAPID, MUNICH.

An unusual solution was required to lift an exhibition piece. As the position of the train offered very little space and the load-bearing capacity of the floor was low, the BKL team first lifted the train onto a siding with a 300 tonne crane, which had to be extended under load due to the low height of the ceiling. The approximately 26m train was subsequently loaded in a more convenient place in a tandem lift with two 100 tonne cranes.

BKL cranes:
LTM 1300/1, LTM 1100/2, LTM 1100-5.2