225 tonne-metres

The challenge

Transmitter station in a sacred building

Mobile phone masts are essential for nationwide communication. Sometimes they are not visible from a distance, as is usually the case, because they are ‘hidden’ in church towers, for example. Prangl was called to such an unusual installation because it needed to be renovated. The difficulty was that there was hardly any space around the church for large equipment.

Our solution

Lack of space no obstacle

The parish church in Übelbach is a late Gothic wall-pier church. The two long sides of the church are lined by the cemetery, and access is only possible via the narrow church lane. This situation presented the Prangl team with a particular challenge. On the one hand, the equipment to be used had to be safely positioned in the lane and, on the other hand, it had to achieve the necessary reach while also bearing the required load. A new machine in the Prangl fleet made it possible to fulfil all aspects of this task simply and efficiently.

All-wheel drive tractor with loader crane

The new all-wheel drive tractor with a 225 tonne-metre loader crane is ideally suited for the conversion of the transmission system in the church tower. Due to the limited space available – narrow access road, cemetery wall and fences for neighbouring properties – it was not possible to fully deploy all of the crane's supports. The solution: the crane's main support was guided through the cemetery wall gate, ensuring a secure footing. After carefully positioning the loader crane, work could begin as specified in the order. The first step was to thoroughly clean the church tower.

Dismantling, cleaning, reinstallation

The cleaning materials were delivered directly into the tower through a window using the loader crane's caged platform. The old transmission system could then be dismantled and lowered down in individual parts. Only then could the new mobile phone system be installed. As with the previous lifts, work was carried out at a working height of 30 metres and a reach of 28 metres. The machine was operated from the ground by the Prangl crane operator, while a fitter from the installation company in the crane's caged platform gradually passed the parts of the new steel structure and the transmitter to his colleagues in the tower. All work was completed exactly according to plan.