Self-erectors aid Texas market

Over the past decade, Austin, Texas has been one of the most desirable places to live and work in the United States. With Austin’s stock rising, so has congestion, especially on construction jobsites in the region. Small commercial projects, condominiums, low-story hotels and utility applications are often too small to use traditional tower cranes, but there’s not enough footprint for a mobile crane. The challenges for a contractor are many.

But R&J Lifting Solutions in Cedar Park, TX, a suburb of Austin, has an answer for these projects. R&J Lifting Solutions President Joe Galbraith and COO Randy Thorp are the first to introduce a new self-erecting tower crane – the Terex CBR 40H – to contractors in the Central Texas region.

“We see a significant opportunity to help framers of small hotels and multi-family buildings position materials more efficiently and cost-effectively by using the CBR 40H crane,” Galbraith said.

Contractors are finally paying attention to the efficiencies of self-erecting tower cranes.

“The self-erecting crane design covers twice the area that a telehandler can in half the time, and at about the same rental price-point,” said Thorp.

While R&J Lifting Solutions is new to the Austin market, principals Galbraith and Thorp offer lifting contractors more than a combined 50 years of crane and rigging experience.

“They both are known for providing innovative lifting solutions, and this market is an ideal fit for the CBR 40H self-erecting tower crane,” said Tony Cappellaro, sales and support manager, Americas, Terex Cranes.

Galbraith and Thorp investigated potential crane designs and options to solve the lifting challenges at congested building sites in Austin. A colleague in Portland, OR, who sold self-erecting cranes along the west coast, recommended that they look at the self-erecting crane type for the Austin market.

“Self-erecting cranes are popular in many major markets along the east and west coasts, but they are just starting to gain traction in central United States regions,” Cappellaro said.

The user-friendly design and ease of operation drew R&J Lifting Solutions to the Terex CBR 40H. Galbraith was impressed with the crane’s smooth handling, partly due to its remote-control operations.

“The remote control allows the operator to move with the load, making it easy to see where it’s placed,” Galbraith said. “It’s quick to move in and out of the jobsite, requires a very small footprint and offers a great bang for the buck.”

The CBR 40H offers a maximum jib length of 131.2 feet and a maximum 4.4-ton capacity. Its lift capacity is 1.1 tons at its maximum jib length.

“The big plus for the crane is it requires only a 13.8-foot footprint for its base, allowing it to be put in tight spots where a mobile crane cannot fit,” Thorp said.

With transport dimensions of 44.6 feet long, 7.9 feet wide and 11.5 feet high when positioned on the trailer, the CBR 40H can be moved to the jobsite using a flatbed trailer. A second trailer transports the crane’s 44,092-pounds of counterweight. Its self-erecting design quickly unfolds the vertical tower to its 84-foot height.

“An experienced crew can have the crane set up and ready to lift loads within four hours of arriving on site,” Cappellaro said.

A self-erecting tower crane can beat a mobile crane at move-in/move-out as well as on rental price, Galbraith said. The Terex CBR 40H operates quietly with 20 kVA electric power compared to diesel fuel for mobile cranes and telehandlers.

Safety was another reason R&J Lifting Solutions decided to get in the self-erector market.

“The stationary CBR 40H crane can replace one or multiple telehandlers at the project site, so there are fewer pieces of mobile equipment moving around a congested work area,” Thorp said.

R&J Lifting Solutions’ investment in the Terex CBR 40H self-erecting tower crane is just the beginning of many more pieces of equipment to follow, according to the principals.

“We have the vision of growing to provide crane operation training and offer full turnkey crane and rigging services in the future,” said Galbraith.