What will become Brazil’s largest glass factory and storage site is currently being constructed in the city of Goiana, and a Grove all-terrain crane is on the job. The factory will play a key role in the manufacture of flat glass for civil construction in the country.
Recife-based company Codequip sent a GMK6300L to help construct the new factory for Companhia Brasileira de Vidros Planos (CBVP). This crane was chosen for its maneuverability and compact footprint.
Carlos Frederico Santiago de Freitas, commercial and operations director at Codequip, explained that the GMK6300L is the company’s first Grove purchase and they are very impressed with it.
“This type of complex construction that involves great heights, heavy loads and tight working quarters needs a highly-compact and versatile crane,” Freitas said. “The GMK6300L offered us precisely that, with a long boom and heavy-lift capacity.”
The 300 t capacity GMK6300L is using 80 m of boom and 92 t of counterweight for the project. It is lifting 40 m long columns and beams, each weighing up to 70 t, to heights that exceed 100 m.
Loosely-packed gravel and mud make for unstable terrain, but the GMK6300L’s MEGATRAK independent suspension and all-wheel steer system, which allows wheels to remain on the ground at all times, has easily navigated the job site.
Also, the GMK6300L offers five outrigger positions, more than any other crane in its capacity class, giving the operator optimal flexibility. The crane features the ECOS (electronic crane operating system) that programs essential duties and supplies information to the operator. It also has EKS 5, which monitors lifting conditions and provides graphic feedback.
Freitas said that among the competition, Codequip has begun to prefer Grove cranes.
“We have a large fleet of equipment that includes various brands, but the Grove GMK6300L really stands out,” Freitas explained. “We plan to add even more Grove cranes to our fleet this year because we are extremely satisfied with the product’s quality and the exceptional Manitowoc Crane Care Service that backs it.”
For more than 20 years, Codequip has specialized in crane rentals, working in a variety of industries, from heavy construction and oil refineries to shipyards, steel mills and petrochemicals. The company has more than 100 employees and has been using Manitowoc cranes for several years. The purchase of the GMK6300L is its first Grove crane.
Medabil Construction Systems, founded in 1967, is managing the glass factory project. Based in Porto Alegre, Brazil, the company is a leader in the domestic steel construction market of Latin America.
Work began on the glass factory in January 2012 and is still in progress.