In 2019, Steel Giraffe LLC, a welding, manufacturing and crane rental company in Rhode Island, purchased the first Demag AC-45 city crane to be delivered in the United States
The AC-45 can lift up to 50 USt, has a telescopic boom of 102.4 ‘and offers up to 145’ boom and boom.
For the past two years or so has Steel Giraffe has covered 10,000 miles on the rig, which is in transit between hoists. That’s roughly the same distance as the company’s headquarters in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, to Sydney, Australia.
When Stephen Kelly, owner of Steel Giraffe, wanted to expand his fleet, he needed a crane that could adapt to many environments and also handle a wide variety of projects.
Kelly wanted a crane that was easy to drive, maneuvered well, had good lifting capacities, could telescope with a load on the hook, could drive off-road, had load capacity tables for retracted outriggers, and had excellent lifting capacity on rubber.
The Demag AC 45 City crane has checked all the criteria.
First owner of Demag
Steel Giraffe had never owned a Tadano or Demag mobile crane, so Kelly was a little skeptical. However, Kelly said it quickly exceeded expectations, both for its performance and how quickly its operator learned to use it.
“It was quite an experience at first to work with such a small crane with a footprint of 114 feet,” said Kelly. “We used to go to construction sites and people would say, ‘Will this crane do this?'”
Kelly said customers were overwhelmed with the compactness of the unit compared to the total length of the boom and boom. He described an extensive job replacing the flag trap at historic Fort Adams in Newport, Rhode Island. “Installing the double swing boom was quick and easy,” said Kelly. “At the other end of the spectrum, the crane is often found loading and unloading 40-foot containers weighing around 30,000 pounds.”
Kelly is also satisfied with the quick and efficient assembly of the crane. “Assembly and dismantling times are extremely short,” he says. “We are often in different places on the same construction site all day. With the AC-45, we can complete one hub and quickly move on to the next. “
Kelly also commented on how fast the crane moves between different job sites. “The ease of moving the crane is really remarkable. It’s not uncommon for us to have three to four jobs in a day, all over Rhode Island. The crane’s top speed of 80 km / h enables us to cover 100% of our state. “
Kelly said the three-axis steering and multiple steering modes allow the AC-45 to fit almost anywhere. He also said the differential locks are useful. “Sometimes you just get stuck, but as soon as you click the locks, the crane always climbs out without any problems,” he said.
When it came to learning to operate a crane from a manufacturer new to the Steel Giraffe fleet, Kelly said the IC-1 Plus computer software was extremely intuitive. “It’s basically like an iPad. The full color display really brings it to life and makes it easy to read and see in all conditions, ”he said. “Switching between line parts, crane modes, telescope modes and general situation monitoring is as easy as touching the right symbol on the screen.”
In the two years as the owner of the crane, Steel Giraffe has used it in every imaginable setup: jib offset, runner, runner with search hook and offset, extensive pick-and-carry tasks, different support positions and reduced counterweights. Kelly said the three boom telescopic modes make the crane configurations virtually endless.
He also talked about some interesting projects that Steel Giraffe has tackled with the Demag AC 45 City crane. These include installing the mast on a superyacht, moving medical MRI machines, bridge work, installing art, loading the America’s Cup sailboat onto the Antonov Cargo Carrier plane, and building small to medium-sized modular homes.
After two years of lifting work and a journey of 10,000 miles, he is thrilled about the purchase of the Demag AC-45 city crane by Steel Giraffe.
