Compactkraan Geresteijn reglazes department store with C10e

Out with the old glass, in with the new: a C10e handles a full department store reglaze

Dutch rental firm Compactkraan Geresteijn has used its Hoeflon C10e with an S600 vacuum lifter to strip out and replace every window in a new department store, working at height from a restricted street frontage.

Two lifts for every opening

A reglazing job doubles the work: each existing pane has to be released and taken down before the replacement can go up, and both halves happen at height with the building in an unfinished state. Compactkraan Geresteijn (CKG) was appointed to replace all the windows in a new department store and put its Hoeflon C10e on the job.

The crane was paired with an S600 vacuum lifter, which grips the glass directly and allows the pane to be presented to the opening in the right attitude. With the C10e’s capacity and stability behind it, the combination let the crew position glass at height without the load swinging or the crane having to work at the edge of its chart.

Set-up time as the deciding factor

CKG’s stated reason for choosing the machine was as much about logistics as lifting. The C10e sets up quickly and takes up little space, so it can be moved along a frontage as the work progresses rather than being rigged once and worked at long radius. On a site where the crane has to share a street with deliveries, that is often what determines how many openings can be completed in a day.

“This crane is truly on a different level.”

— Bennie, Compactkraan Geresteijn

Precision over reach

Façade work rewards controllability rather than headline capacity. The panes are heavy enough to need machine assistance but must be brought into the frame within millimetres, often with operatives working from scaffold alongside. Compact cranes fitted with vacuum attachments have taken over much of this work from larger mobile machines, principally because they can be sited close to the façade and operated by remote control from the point where the glass is being fitted.