Sarens imports a Demag CC 8800-1 at India’s Ramagundam Fertilizer Plant

When Sarens was recruited to perform a series of challenging lifts at India’s Ramagundam Fertilizer Plant, the team imported a Demag ® CC 8800-1 lattice boom crawler crane all the way from Greece to get the job done. Commissioned by the RFCL (Ramagundam Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd.), through the project’s EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) contractor, Bridge and Roof Company Ltd., Sarens was responsible for lifting heavy equipment to aid with the construction of the Ramagundam Fertilizer Plant. The project involves the construction of a new ammonia plant and a new urea plant with capacities of 2,200 tonnes per day and 3,850 tonnes per day, respectively, as well as developing an ancillary offsite and utility facilities. In total, approximately $750 million (INR50bn) will be invested into the project when it’s completed in late 2018/early 2019. Once completed the plant will produce 1.12 million tonnes of urea annually.

Need for a massive crane

When the Sarens team began reviewing the project, they quickly determined it would take a large crane, like the company’s 1,600 tonne capacity Demag CC 8800-1 crawler crane to complete the job. For the first, and one of the most challenging lifts, Sarens needed to lift a 425-tonne urea reactor into place. “The Demag CC 8800-1 crawler crane is a highly versatile machine,” explained Navneet Jain, Sarens Regional Deputy Director, Asia Pacific. “In addition to being a good fit for this project, we have several other jobs happening in India that the crane can be used for. So, we decided that transporting it here from Greece was a good choice.”

Getting the crane to the job

The Sarens crane was shipped to the Mumbai port in India. The Sarens team quickly offloaded the crane and transported it to the site using multiple trucks. To aid with assembling the CC 8800-1  crane and act as a tailing crane, Sarens also deployed a Demag CC 2800-1 lattice boom crawler crane. The team was able to safely assemble the machine in just seven days, despite facing space limitations. “We are pleased with how smooth the transportation process went with the Demag CC 8800-1 crawler crane,” added Jain. “The machine is certainly designed with the needs of the customers in mind. For a big crane, it’s relatively easy to transport and assemble, even in tight conditions.”

Completing the first challenging lift

The 425-tonne urea reactor measured 53 meters in length and 3.8 meters in diameter. To perform the lift, the reactor was upended with the CC 8800-1 crane in an SSL 84/72 configuration at a lift radius of 24 meters. The CC 2800-1 assist crane was used in an SSL 54 configuration. After lifting the reactor, the CC 8800-1 crane operator slowly slewed and walked the heavy load into position. The 20-member crew battled rain, area constraints and narrow plant roads to complete this project’s first erection safely and within the target schedule. “Our team did a great job and earned high praise from the client,” said Jain. “However, there were several more lifts to be done, so the team got right back to work to ensure those were also completed in the stipulated time frame.”

The Demag CC 8800-1 crawler crane is scheduled to be at the Ramagundam Fertilizer Plant for another 40 days. The Sarens team will use it to execute five more key component erections, weighing up to 640 tonnes. “We are proud of our operations, fleet, engineering, logistics, sales, planning and support teams for getting the Demag CC 8800-1 crane to India, transporting swiftly and executing on this project safely and efficiently. We know we’ll get a lot of use from it in the future,” concluded Jain.