Hoeflon C30e and C1e handle angel statues in Barcelona Cathedral crypt

Working under a Gothic vault

The job centred on the crypt beneath the cathedral’s high altar, where decorative angel statues had to be removed for restoration and later set back in place. According to Hoeflon, the available space was tight, access routes ruled out conventional lifting equipment, and the fragile surroundings left no margin for contact with the historic fabric.

That combination pushed the Spanish operator towards compact crawler-mounted machines. The C30e was set up in the nave, its boom reaching over the balustrade towards the crypt entrance in front of the altar, while the small C1e pick-and-carry crane worked down among the columns and railings of the crypt itself.

Precision over the pews

Moving carved statues in a consecrated monument is less about capacity than about control. Hoeflon says the pairing of fine proportional operation, manoeuvrability on tracks and sufficient lifting performance allowed the angels to be taken down safely and returned to exactly their original positions once the restoration was complete.

Both machines are battery-electric, which mattered twice over in this setting: no exhaust fumes in an enclosed historic interior, and quiet operation in a building that remains in daily religious use.

A template for restoration lifts

For Hoeflon, the project is a textbook case for compact cranes in restoration and renovation work. Churches, monuments and listed buildings typically offer narrow doorways, uneven floors and zero tolerance for damage — conditions under which a mini crane that fits through the access route and works emission-free can take on lifts that would otherwise demand scaffolding, gantries or manual handling.

Transgrúas Salavedra ran the operation with its own red-liveried C30e and C1e units, adding Barcelona’s cathedral to the growing list of European monuments where electric mini cranes have quietly done the heavy work.