The Kelly Group recently rented a Link-Belt 250-ton (230-t) TCC-2500 telescopic crawler crane from The ALL Family of Companies. In a little over seven months, the TCC-2500 logged 1,650 working hours, travelling a distance of 10 miles working around a railroad discharge facility in an agro-refinery complex.

The Kelly Group of Decatur, Illinois was founded in 1983 as a general contractor and sheet metal fabricator. Today it operates and employs five metal fabrication facilities and serves the agribusiness community and other industries including chemical plants, paper mills and manufacturing facilities in several states.

The Kelly Group recently rented a Link-Belt 250-ton (230-t) TCC-2500 telescopic crawler crane from The ALL Family of Companies. In a little over seven months, the TCC-2500 logged 1,650 working hours, travelling a distance of 10 miles working around a railroad discharge facility in an agro-refinery complex. The rail line is flanked by silos and tanks with rooftop walkways, conveyors and enclosed motors.

"When the trains came in or went through, we retract the boom, walk it over the train tracks to the other side, let the train cars come by, and then go back to the work location," Ron McCoy, crane superintendent of The Kelly Group explained. "We walk it in, set up, boom out, do the picks, pull the boom back in, and walk it out several times a day."

The tallest tank, a 150 ft. (45.7 m) corn tank is being dismantled and removed in sections weighing up to 1,500 lbs. (680 kg). In some instances, the radius for removing sections of the old corn tank is up to 265 ft. (80.7 m) away. These lifts were completed by fully extending at 223 ft. (67.9 m) and erecting 117 ft. (35.6 m) of offset jib at 45 degrees to reach the farthest corners of the 80 ft. (24 m) in diameter corn tank.

"Anything else was not really feasible. A big crawler crane did not have the space to be erected and lay it down when needed. With a truck crane, it would have to be a much larger capacity rig, over 500-ton capacity. We could have retracted the boom, and lift up the outriggers, but then have to tear all the counterweights off, [to reduce ground pressure thus losing time], then move it across the tracks. This would be at least twice a day. So the TCC-2500 was extremely helpful. We figured out that we saved over $800,000 during this project just because of that crane, and that is a conservative estimate," said McCoy.

The Kelly Group and Ron McCoy were faced with a situation of getting a 110,000 lb. (49,895 kg) new vessel to a renovated area. The special heavy haul tractor/trailer could only get within 50 yards of the lift/placement site. The 250-ton crane off-loaded the large vessel and carried it to its final lift destination, including making a 90 degree turn around the building where the container would finally be placed.

"We want repeat customers who will keep coming back. We don't want to work for them just one time. We want them calling us back a second, third and a 200th time. So we have jobs for the TCC-2500, and when we bid these jobs, we're saving our customers major money," said McCoy.

For more information, visit www.linkbelt.com.

This story also appears on Crane Equipment Guide.

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