First Wolff in Manhattan

American crane rental company Federated Crane set up a Wolff 700 B US luffing crane at Three World Trade Center (3 WTC) site in Manhattan, New York, USA.

One World Trade Center was opened in Manhattan last year. At 541 m, it is the tallest building in the United States and the main building of the new World Trade Center complex. The 53 tonne capacity (710 metre-tonne) Wolff 700 B US was set up with an internal climbing frame and 46 metre tower height. At its final height, the tower crane measured 300 m.

Construction on 3 WTC began in 2010 and the tower crane with its 55 m jib and an additional 5 m fly jib will be on site until 2016. Tasks for the tower crane include lifting steel columns and girders for the outer shell of the skyscraper.

To begin work, a team from Wolffkran set the tower up. The challenge was to position the crane close to the inner core of the skyscraper which was several floors higher up than the outer shell. To work effectively, the crane was specially adapted for this project and was fitted with a 7.4 m a counter jib. In addition, it is electrically powered to meet New York City regulations and has a line speed of up to 190 m/min.

Three World Trade centre is expected to be completed in 2018. It will be 329 m tall, making it one of the ten tallest buildings in New York. Construction on Two World Trade Center is also currently ongoing.

Already completed are the 228 m tall Seven World Trade Center, the 297 m Four World Trade Center and since the 541 m One World Trade Center. The buildings accommodate mainly offices, but also include shops and restaurants.