 The Metz Pompidou Centre with its sweeping cantilevered "tent" roof. |
Telehandlers performed the job of several machines during the complicated construction of a European arts centre that will exhibit the works of Matisse and Picasso.
The Metz Pompidou Centre, which has a sweeping cantilevered "tent" roof, is not only a showcase for French artists but for the latest in design and building technologies.
The basis for construction company Weilheim-Bannholz's interwoven, prefabricated structure for the arts centre was a steel scaffold pipe system. The open structure allowed access for boom-type lifts and platforms during the building process.
 A Merlo Roto working at the Pompidou. |
Rental company Amann GmbH supplied the machines for the site and up to five Merlo Roto machines were used at one time. Each of the 25m, 21m and 16m (82ft, 69ft and 53 ft) Rotos was fitted with a Merlo SPACE system, which allows reach through and around the pipework structure.
The mounting of the central tower crane was possible through the Roto and SPACE combination. While the Roto 20.25 telehandler gives 25 metres (82 feet) of lifting height, the SPACE platform adds two dimensions to it. It has its own telescopic extension of up to 11 metres (36 feet) and allows the working basket to be slewed 300 degrees around its vertical axis.
The combined system allows two workers to work up to 36 metres (118 feet). They can also go up through apertures in the structure and around corners. The telehandlers also have a Merlo-designed Merlin Computerised Safety System that automatically compensates when the outrigger configuration is changed. For example, even when the outriggers on one side are completely retracted, the machine is still safe to work in. The system enables safe operation when the stabilisers are asymmetrically deployed.
Merlo Deutschland GmbH regional manager Burkhard Bauer says the technology and flexibility of the telehandlers "made a complicated installation at the Metz possible".
"The installers would have had to use a forklift, a handler and a loader," Bauer adds.