The work of setting up steel structures for a new stand at the home venue of the French association football club FC Metz based in Metz, France, has been entrusted to international heavy lift and transport specialist Sarens. FC Metz was formed in 1932 and plays in Ligue 1, the first level in the French football league system.
Construction contractors DeMathieu Bard and Costantini gave the entire responsibility to Sarens. The FC Metz’s residence is Stade Saint-Symphorien which can accommodate 25,636 spectators.
The steels weighing up to 242 tonnes for the new south stand were lifted with the help of a 650 tonne capacity Demag CC 3800-1 lattice boom crawler crane.
Substantial matting was installed on the subsoil at the edge of the construction area to facilitate the crane to get inside the facility.
Explained Julien Cavelius, Demathieu Bard Site Manager, “With two layers (7 + 5 meters) of 20 cm thick Bongossi timber, we provided sufficient support for the crane.”
Eighteen trucks ferried the material for ground preparation and then the crane took 55 truck loads.
“Since we brought eight to 12 transports to the construction site per day, just three Sarens employees, using two assist cranes, were able to assemble the crane ready for use in five days,” Cavelius added.
After assembling, two days were given for testing purposes, and the crane was ready to lift in seven days.
Sarens set up the crane in SWSL configuration with 60 meters of main boom, a 36 meter superlift mast and 24 meter luffing jib. Superstructure counterweight was 165 tonnes while the superlift counterweight was the maximum of 325 tonnes.
The four steel structures were 45 meters long, 25 meters wide and 14 meters high. At first the crane lifted them to a height of 16 meters so they could be moved over a row of trees. Then the crane was slewed over the trees before lifting the load by a further 13 to 29 meters. It took the loads over the stadium’s existing stand and then they were lowered directly into position for anchoring by technicians from Portugal-based electricity generation company Martifer, which made the steel structures.
“The lifting performed by the CC 3800-1 was an absolutely impressive spectacle for me. There has not been such a crane operation in Metz in the last 30 years,” enthused Cavelius.
“For me, the Demag CC 3800-1 is an absolutely beautiful machine that can be set up amazingly quickly and easily despite its gigantic dimensions. The machine worked precisely and reliably – despite the huge components that had to be lifted,” Cavelius further sang paeans of praise.
It was certainly a historic moment for the fans of FC Metz when the club’s stadium’s new south stand steel structures, weighing up to 533,519 lbs., were lifted and assembled.
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