Miron Construction's Epic Crane Lift
Miron Construction Epic Crane Lift
Liebherr LTM 1500-8.1 Crane completing a 170 foot vertical lift of a 60 ton whey dryer
I was hired by Miron Construction to do drone photography to document a construction project and crane lift. Miron brought in a specialized crane to complete this job at a dairy processing plant in Kiel, Wisconsin. Since I’m not a construction industry expert I’m going to open up with a quote from a member of the team doing the lift and get right into the images.
“Facing tight quarters, overhead obstructions, and uncertain ground bearing pressures, Dawes Rigging & Crane Rental, a member of the ALL Family of Companies, uses a Liebherr LTM 1500-8.1 to set a 120,000-pound whey dryer 170 feet atop a dairy processing plant in Kiel, Wisconsin.” - Dawes Rigging & Crane Rental
The Miron Construction & Dawes Rigging & Crane Rental Team Prepares for the Lift
The photos you’re about to see don’t do the space justice. It’s much tighter than it appears. The feats Miron Construction and Dawes Rigging were able to accomplish in this small space in the middle of the processing plant are astounding. Even though I worked hand-in-hand with the Miron team to capture the lift, I know I could never do an adequate job describing and explaining everything that went into this. Here’s the breakdown of the project through my eyes:
Phase 1 - Build a 120,000 pound whey dryer onsite in a cramped space while assembling a specialized crane
Phase 2 - Lift the whey dryer 170 feet straight up and then drop it into place through a hole in the roof
Phase 3 - Breathe a sigh of relief as the meticulous planning and teamwork turned in a successful lift
Let’s begin with some pre-lift photos
Preparation & Planning = Perfect Lift
It took ten minutes from the start of the lift to the final placement of the whey dryer. I knew that I only had one take to get the images that Miron wanted so I worked closely with their team to make sure I was in the right position at the right time. On top of capturing the images I also had to make sure that I kept the drone at a certain distance from the crane so that it wouldn’t interfere with the crane operator and avoid building obstacles. However, with the planning and preparation that went into everything the lift and drone operations went off without a hiccup.
A Bird’s Eye View of the Construction Site in Kiel, WI
These two images really capture the space the team was operating in. You can see how tight and cramped the construction and lift site were.
There’s no “I” in Team
Thanks for stopping by and taking this virtual tour of a construction site. I want to send one last shout out to Miron Construction, Dawes Rigging & Crane Rental, and everybody that worked on this project. It was amazing to be a part of it. (That’s me on the left!)
Check out more more of my industrial work.