Building a house can be a nerve-wracking affair. Prefabricated houses are becoming increasingly popular, not least because their modular design makes for a far less stressful experience for the homeowner. All the more so when the prefabricated components can be lifted quickly and precisely.
Prefabricated houses can be erected more quickly and there are fewer uncertainties surrounding the project, which generally means there are fewer surprises in store.
That said, these advantages of prefabricated buildings only serve to reassure the builders if the work can be done cleanly – especially in the shell construction phase. This is where it is particularly important to be able to count on the contracted crane company to lift the prefabricated building components with precision.
Perfect for compact building sites
This is exactly why the crane and heavy-duty service provider Auto-Klug relies on one of its Tadano HK 40 for its prefabricated house assembly projects.
With a total of 190 employees, Auto-Klug provides crane, heavy-duty and waste disposal services at eight locations across Bavaria, Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. And this winter saw the need for yet more prefabricated houses to be built in the south and east of Germany, which is what brought this shown HK 40 from the company’s fleet of 44 mobile cranes to work in the snow and ice.
“We really appreciate having the HK 40 for this type of job. It’s the perfect crane for positioning prefabricated building components – especially in new construction areas. Its compact dimensions mean it takes up hardly any space on the cramped construction sites where space is usually tight,” explains Managing Director of Auto-Klug, Werner Glück.
On the project pictured below, the HK 40 lifted a component weighing around 1 t precisely into place. Given the dimensions of 6 m in length, 2.5 m in width and 30 cm in depth, not to mention the general lack of space at the construction site, this was nevertheless a challenging job. But it is in precisely these scenarios that the HK 40 comes into its own, showcasing its exceptional power in such a compact vehicle.
As if this weren’t enough, the qualities of the HK 40 as a versatile crane make it the ideal choice for projects like this. “The crane can carry its basic counterweight of 4.5 tonnes with a 32t gross vehicle weight, which is usually sufficient for prefabricated buildings.
And if it does get tight in terms of the lifting capacity, it can simply hook up its trailer to become fully operational. The HK 40 has no need for any kind of support vehicle in this respect,” enthuses Werner Glück. Configured in this way, the Tadano HK 40 always remains within the permissible axle loads and does not need any special permits to drive to the site. It’s a case of simply getting in and driving off.
Great service, smart solution
This is not only thanks to the clean axle loads, but also to the excellent service from Tadano, which is always available when needed. Glück explains: “Our experience with the Tadano service team has been great. In the first instance, they provide uncomplicated support over the phone to resolve any issues, and if necessary, a technician will come out to the site in no time. This is exactly why the HK 40 is the right choice for us when it comes to smart operations, and it’s also the perfect fit for our slogan: Auto-Klug – we have smart solutions.”
