The people in upstate New York who have trouble obeying the law will soon have a new place in which to reside.
For nine days in early December, Biondi Rigging has assisted in building the new Washington County jail in Hudson Falls, NY. And the star piece of equipment has been a Tadano ATF-1300XL 130-ton (117 t) all-terrain crane, which the Hadley-NY company has been using to unload a slew of precast concrete jail cells.
The crane, which Biondi has rented from Woods CRW, based in Williston, VT, features 167 ft. (50.9 m) of main boom, 55,000 lbs. (24,947 kg) of counter weight, five axles, and is DOT permittable in New York and Vermont. The crane also has a tip height of 275 ft. (83.8 m), the jib is fully installed and has a second winch.
The pre-cast concrete jail cells have been arriving by rail in Hudson Falls, NY, and have then been loaded onto trucks for transportation to the construction site by Biondi’s Tadano crane. Each module contains two cells, each with two bunk beds, with a capacity of four prisoners. Each unit weighs approximately 63,000 lbs. (28,576 kg) and measures 14 by 14 by 10 ft. (4.2 by 4.2 by 3 m). A total of 47 units are being unloaded from the train and placed on the trucks. Additionally, concrete wall panels are being unloaded for a total of 96 pieces being picked over a nine-day period.
Jay Biondi, of Biondi Rigging, said that the Tadano offers several features that provide his crews with ideal operator conditions. “We really like the auto leveling cab that is adjustable up to 20 degrees, giving the operator an ideal view of its pick and our operator feels that the computerized dashboard is giving him better operations details,” he said.
Biondi Rigging, an 8-year-old company that does complete rigging jobs or manned equipment rentals, is a small, family-owned company that prides itself on offering its customers personalized service in NY’s Capital District and western New England. Biondi also offers specialized hauling and storage in its yard.
Although Biondi owns 16 to 100-ton (14.4 to 90 t) cranes, it did not have what it needed for this project, which is why the company turned to Woods CRW.
“When we first received this job, we knew that it would call for at least a 130-ton crane and a second winch to turn the cell. None of the cranes currently in our fleet could meet these requirements,” began Biondi. “We knew that Woods CRW had a crane in its inventory that would meet our needs. Obviously, we did not want to purchase a crane with those requirements just to do one job, so we were very surprised to find out from Woods CRW that they would be willing to rent us the machine. This was a service that we never expected from them and furthermore to make sure that we fully understood the equipment they sent their technician to give us complete training on the crane’s operation. We found Woods CRW’s attentiveness to our needs very refreshing.”
Craig Mongeau
Craig Mongeau has been Construction Equipment Guide’s editor in chief for the past 21-plus years. He directly manages CEG’s Northeast and Southeast editions (which includes New England, Georgia and Alabama state supplements); Superintendent’s Profile; Crane Guide; Northeast and Southeast-based anniversary magazines; and special event publications. He also oversees CEG’s Midwest and Western Editions as well as all CEG website content.
A Hofstra University graduate, Craig began his publishing career as a staff writer for local Southeast Pennsylvania newspapers. He then became an associate editor and book editor of Springhouse Corporation, a Pennsylvania-based medical publishing house and then worked as a managing editor of Rockhill Communications, based in Bala Cynwyd, Pa., where he created and managed content for a national Voluntary Hospital Association website.
Originally from Pittsfield, Mass., Craig has lived in North Wales, Pa., for the past 27 years. He has been married to his wife, Hillary, whom he met in college, since 1998 and together, they have two daughters, Jolie and Aubrie.
Read more from Craig Mongeau here.
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