MLC650 dramatically increases efficiency on Texas wind project

Mortenson Construction is using its Manitowoc MLC650 to great effect at the South Plains II wind farm in Lockney Texas changing the way in which wind turbine towers are constructed. The Minneapolis Minnesota-based company created a new method to assemble 91 wind towers that would not have been possible with previous generation crawler cranes. The MLC650 configured with luffing jib and VPC-MAX attachments is assembling the 194 USt turbines on the ground and then lifting the fully assembled nacelles 300 ft into the air before attaching them to the top of the tower.

“With this crane configuration not only are we much more efficient we can better control the quality of the turbine assembly ” said Steven Klatt crane manager with the company. “Building it on the ground instead of in the air is much easier and the VPC-MAX gives us more radius to work with. It also enables us to do just one pick versus four picks — that’s pretty powerful. At Mortenson we have a commitment to lean innovation and minimizing critical picks aligns with our goal of driving waste out of the construction process.”