Bringing in for paper industry

The scene: one of Germany’s largest paper mills. In November 2019, there was an extra-special challenge lined up for SCHOLPP. Two huge drum components from technology group VOITH needed to be brought into the Progroup AG site in Sandersdorf-Brehna: a drum screen measuring 23 meters in length and weighing 85 metric tons, and a drum pulper measuring 50 meters in length and weighing 235 metric tons. This was a task that demanded the utmost respect, even from the specialists in red.

After all, the installation was not going to be a textbook job. Complex analyses and technical planning over many months were just as important as the wide range of special technical solutions and specialized technology.

The smaller drum screen was brought into the hall first, where it was taken up by an indoor crane. A specially configured heavy-duty cross-beam, shackles and round slings were attached with low tolerances. The crane then lifted the 85 metric tons to a height of 10 meters.

Slowly and precisely moving the drums over 60 meters and placing them down onto the bearings required utmost concentration from the team, whose many years of experience in moving extremely heavy loads was crucial to the success of the maneuver. Everyone in the team knew exactly what to do.

Tandem operation by indoor crane and lifting gantry

But that was just the warm-up. The biggest challenge was still to come. Even bigger, even heavier: It was time to move the 50-meter-long drum pulper. The length of the component and its huge weight of 235 metric tons called for a combination of various lifting techniques. The drum needed to be kept balanced at all times, with the individual pieces of lifting equipment working in perfect sync. For this job, the SCHOLPP fitters needed equipment in the XXL range: vast 100-metric-ton heavy-duty round slings and enormous shackles capable of carrying loads of up to 120 metric tons.

A tense silence, a final check. The mobile crane and the indoor crane lifted the drum as high as the heavy-duty truck could extend. It was then lifted to the ride height, with the team continually checking the position and inclination. The crane operator safely and sensitively maneuvered the drum until it had almost passed the right-hand edge of the hall opening, where the next step was to be performed with the help of a hydraulic lifting gantry. Despite its compact dimensions, this piece of equipment is a powerful beast capable of lifting up to 620 metric tons. This time, the load was not suspended underneath the supports, as is usually the case, but was instead suspended on the head supports in special saddles due to the high installation height.

The tandem operation by indoor crane and lifting gantry over 20 meters needed to be performed with the specified angle of inclination. The travel speeds were kept in perfect sync at all times. It was a job for experienced operators only. The final positioning onto the roller bearings was performed with an inclination angle of 1 degree. The horizontal alignment didn’t pose any problems, since the lifting gantry is flexible enough to mirror even the most minor movements, and the drum landing was clean and controlled.