Superior Erection Helps Expand Cleveland-Based Brewery
 |
|
Enlarge Image
|
May 20, 2015 - With the growing popularity of craft beers, Great Lakes Brewing Company (GLBC), Cleveland, Ohio, saw an increase of 20% in 2013. With future plans to expand into new markets, the company made the decision to undertake a $7 million expansion of the brewery's tanks in 2014.
GLBC is in a tightly packed, urban area, and the four new tanks would be installed on the edge of a busy parking lot. There would be close-by buildings, vehicles and overhead power lines to tackle in this project.
The project would take an entire year in planning and execution, and was handled in phases during the summer of 2014. Superior Erection was called on first to assist with rigging and setting the new tanks. First, two new 600 bbl Brite storage tanks, which hold finished beer that is ready for packaging, were to be installed. Each was twice the size of the brewery’s older storage tanks, literally quadrupling the brewery’s storage capacity. The two tanks are expected to last 2 to 3 years, depending on future expansion.
For the next phase, four new 600 bbl (18,000 gallon) fermentation tanks would be installed. The new fermenters would hold the brewery’s most popular, high-volume beers, such as Dortmunder Gold Lager and Burning River.
Because finished beer has to be chilled when stored, and with an increased need for cooling due to the new tanks, the brewery had to upgrade to a new chiller, first removing the two old ones from the brewery’s roof. Superior installed the steel work and rigged the new, massive chiller into place, which was three times the size of the two old chillers combined.
To install the new Brites, fermenters and chiller, the brewery needed to take over part of the adjacent parking lot. Superior and GLBC worked with the lot’s owners on scheduling temporary closure of the lot, including compensation for lost parking revenue during that time. They also had to work around the schedule of the nearby West Side Market.
Because of the size of the tanks and the nature of work to be performed in lifting and setting them into place, GLBC and Superior obtained numerous permits, escorts, and even permission to close nearby roads at times, to ensure safety of visitors, cars and other businesses in the area. And they were on a tight timeline — permits could only be issued for a day at a time, so when closures were in place, the team had to work quickly.
For the Brite tanks and fermenters, Superior used a 250-ton Grove GMK crane with a 50-ton Grove TMS acting as an assist crane in lifting and tilting each tank into the upright position with a tight, 125-foot radius. The 250-ton crane then set the tanks up vertically, and lowered each through the roof’s open hatch onto wheeled skates. Once set upright, they were wheeled into their final positions.
Everything went as planned, and the brewery proceeded with the rest of the project, including new electrical work and mechanical install of process piping. The new tanks were operational just before Christmas.
