25.07.2024

Tadano GTC 2000 on the nature trail

US based Reynolds Rigging and Crane has taken delivery of a 200 tonne Tadano GTC-2000 telescopic crawler crane, which it has supplied it to construction company Zenith Tech for work on the refurbishment of a section of the 52 mile Glacial Drumlin State Trail in Wisconsin running between Milwaukee and Madison.

The German built crane, introduced in 2022, features a six section 60 metre boom and can be equipped with a five to 23 metre telescopic luffing extension for an 85 metre maximum tip height. Its tracks can be extended asymmetrically to any position, with the crane’s intelligent control system, automatically calculating the load chart to suit the actual track configuration, slope of the ground and slew angle. It can also pick & carry its full load chart.

The 200 tonner was delivered in five truck loads to a field adjacent to the trail, team members from Zenith tech and a Reynold’s equipment technician quickly assembled the crane without the need for any assist crane, ready for work.

The GTC-2000's first role on the project was to assist with refurbishing a pedestrian and cyclist bridge built across an old railway track at Rock Lake, near Lake Mills after the piers began to fail. A key role the crane played was replacing the piers and installing piles.

Construction manager Steve Firari said: “We knew we needed a crane that was large enough to do the work we needed, yet small enough to get in here due to the size of the trail. It had to have the ability to walk the approximately 400 metres up the path and stay out of the tree canopy. Once at the site, it had to be able to sit in one spot and have enough reach, capacity and power to pick up the beams at a radius of around 44 metres, slew with the load and drive them into the ground.”

Crane operator Keskimaki added: “Our main use was driving piling 26 metres into the ground with a vibratory hammer. That was done in two sections. First, we drove a 16.8 metre in part way, then set a second beam on top and welded it onto the other before driving them both down to grade. We also moved a template and other materials as needed. The Tadano had plenty of capacity in every situation. The load charts are right there on the in-cab monitor, and you can scroll through to choose the length of boom you want and find the sweet spot to pick the required capacity.”

Based in DeForest, on the north side of Madison in Wisconsin, Reynolds was established in 1888 as a livery stable and dray line with four horses and two wagons. Henry Reynolds, purchased the company’s first crane after in 1946 and the rest, as they say, is history. It has been the Tadano dealer for the state of Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula since its its appointment in 2017. It also distributes aerial lifts from Snorkel, Skyjack and AlmaCrawler, Jekko spider cranes, Tracked Carriers, and telehandlers from Magni, Xtreme and Skyjack.