Three Potain tower cranes mounted on 10 m tall portal bases are building an office complex in Geneva, Switzerland. The 25 t capacity Potain MD 560 B cranes are erected on the custom-made 10 m wide bases to allow easy access for other equipment within the congested jobsite, saving time and expense at the €200 million project.
The three MD 560 B tower cranes are rented to main contractor Implenia by Stirnimann, one of the largest construction equipment companies in Europe and Potain’s official Swiss dealer for more than 25 years. Stirnimann said the high-capacity crane was surprisingly compact for its size, as Pascal Buffat, regional head at Stinimann, explains.
The three Potain MD 560 Bs arrived in April 2013 and will work at the site for 18 months. They were fitted with portal bases at Stirnimann’s workshop in Olten before being erected at the congested jobsite. The tower cranes, which stand at heights of 48 m, 68 m and 88 m, are building the new headquarters of an international company.
The cranes are working eleven hours a day, six days a week. They are predominantly used to lift formwork and pre-cast concrete structures. As the project progresses, the cranes will place much of the 5,600 t of steel and 16,500 m2 of glass needed for the structure and façade of the nine-story building.
Situated between the United Nations building and Lake Geneva, the striking 25,000 m2 development will accommodate approximately 2,000 employees. The project also includes a day-care center for employees’ families. The project will be completed by the end of 2015.
The MD 560 B is among the largest standard top-slewing cranes from Potain. It has a maximum jib length of 80 m and a tip load of 5.4 t.
Stirnimann operates an extensive fleet of machinery, which includes hundreds of tower cranes and mobile cranes. In 1969, the company bought its first Grove mobile cranes. Potain tower cranes followed 25 years ago. The company services the majority of the cranes it sells and rents throughout their life.
Main contactor Implenia is Switzerland’s leading construction and construction services company. The company employs more than 6,500 people.