Celebrating 50 years as a provider of high-quality precast and prestressed concrete products, Construction Products, Inc. (CPI) of Tennessee specializes in bridges, commercial buildings, railroads and marina construction. A sampling of the company’s early work includes major industry and government projects, such as the structural concrete portions of the Quaker Oats and Procter and Gamble facilities in Jackson, Tenn., where CPI is also based. Of further interest, the company also is known for its prestressed highway beams, with spans in numerous bridge projects and railway bridges in seven states.
However, CPI’s primary work is structural concrete bridgework and structural bulb tees. The newly purchased Shuttlelift SB 50 single-beam mobile gantry crane was considered because the company needed a crane that could lift at higher capacities and exclusively perform tandem lifts. The SB 50 was a perfect fit for use in conjunction with the company’s existing conventional cranes, regardless of brand.
Shuttlelift’s Sales Manager Dan Reinholtz explains, “Throughout the industry, what used to be picked with a single spreader bar and a conventional crane is now difficult with the growing length of precast beams. The SB series cranes are a cost-effective way to lift in tandem without investing in additional conventional cranes.”
CPI President Don Thomson concurs with how the new unit operates. “We love the versatility of the crane and are finding many more uses for the machine than we initially thought. The crane is simple to use, and we were impressed with the speed at which it operates,” he says.
CPI of Tennessee is using the versatility of the SB gantry crane not only for structural picks but also to carry concrete buckets or smaller precast elements, all of which are single-point picks.
Additional features include the wireless remote control, which increases the operator’s load visibility and improves operational safety. The remote is laid out in the same format as the backup operator cab controls for an extra measure of efficiency and safety. As Thomson says, “The radio remote control allows the crane operator to assist with the rigging directly.” — www.shuttlelift.com