Terex Cranes Germany was one of four finalists for this year’s Swedish Steel Prize. With its innovative Boom Booster Kit, Terex Cranes can dramatically increase the performance of its existing cranes. The kit is an easy-to-assemble and transport boom system that increases crane load capacity more than 90%.
The Swedish Steel Prize is awarded annually by SSAB the Swedish manufacturer of high-strength wear and structural steel to recognize the most innovative and creative products and solutions utilizing high-strength steels.
Terex Cranes Germany wanted to create a new boom system that could be retrofitted onto existing crane models. It would eliminate the need to buy an entirely new, larger crane. The Boom Booster is a highly innovative design unlike any other boom system on the market. It was developed without the need for additional reinforcements on the base crane and is easy to assemble. Setup of such a system takes about two days. It is also easy to transport.
“Think of it like chip-tuning a car, which instantly increases the performance,” explained Harald Riedinger, director technology and innovation, Terex Cranes Group. “The Terex Boom Booster is an add-on boom structure that can almost double the efficiency in steep and long boom configurations of our CC 8800-1 crane model.”
The Boom Booster can be partially or completely disassembled, depending on the specific road transportation regulations, thanks to the pin bolt structure. It fits in standard 40 ft open-top containers. This leads to an improved handling and transportation functionality with better utilization of standard means of transport, with the need for fewer trucks, which decreases fuel consumption.
The Boom Booster utilizes a variety of high-strength steels for components like the trusses, tube members and bolted joints, including Strenx 700MC, 770QL and 960QL, Strenx 700 profiles and SSAB Domex 460NL.
The Boom Booster Kit comprises two 11m adapters and five intersection parts that are 10m long. When completely assembled, the add-on boom length is 72m. With the boom booster attachment, a total height of 156m and 234m with a jib configuration can be easily realized. Production of the Boom Booster takes place in Zweibrücken, Germany.
The Swedish Steel Prize jury recognized that Terex has developed an adaptable crane section (Boom booster) that significantly increases the load capacity of their crane model CC 8800-1. Since the alternative would be to replace the entire crane this is a very cost-effective solution. High-strength steel is used for the booster truss, with tube members and bolted joints. Ease of assembly is facilitated by transport of components in standard containers, which leads to optimized transportation and both decreased fuel consumption and emissions rates. The increased cross-section dimensions of the booster truss improve buckling resistance and bending stiffness.
November 20, 2015
