Kroll Tower Crane Prepares for Operation

Monuments of the world and the K-10000-L shown together in true scale.

January 24, 2008 • A monster-sized tower crane is undergoing erection in Fort McMurray, Alberta. A Kroll K10000-L, manufactured in Denmark and owned by Syncrude Canada Ltd., is currently being erected by Syncrude to be used as the main heavy-lift crane for the construction of the Sulpher Emission Reduction Project. Working in the Athabasca Oil Sands Deposit, Syncrude is the world's largest producer of crude oil from oil sands.

The tower crane is located on a congested site, which lies above a sophisticated network of underground pipes. It is anticipated that the crane will be operational by the end of February.

 

According to Ernie Sheaves, a crane and rigging specialist on the Syncrude Emission Reduction Project, the tower crane is currently topped at its maximum 423 feet. “The next phase of the project is to install the jib components,” he said. “We are using a Terex-Demag CC2800 600 metric-ton crawler crane and a 300-metric-ton Liebherr LR1300 crawler crane to install the jibs. We are hoping for the weather to cooperate so we can have this work completed before the end of January.”

 

The Kroll tower crane has a reach of 337 feet with a lifting capacity of 100 tons at the tip. The crane's reach extends to 7.5 acres, which is more than the area of six football fields. This particular tower crane is equipped with a four-camera system supplied by Orlaco Crane Cam Inc., which will enable the operator to view all lifts and be able to see all around the load. The camera system consists of a load view, two winch views, and a counterweight view.

 

According to Sheaves, there are only 14 Kroll K10000 cranes in the world. “Thirteen of them are in Asia, the Middle East, and Ukraine. This is the first time for a tower crane of this size to be in Canada and only the third time one has been used in North America.”

 

For more information about the Kroll K10000, visit Tower Cranes of America at http://www.towercrane.com/K-10000_tower_crane_01-00.htm.