A glass manipulator and a 5-tonne spider crane tackle underslung façade panels in Riyadh
Spider Plus has completed a façade installation at the King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh using a UNIC URW-547 spider crane fitted with a GL-UMC600 glass manipulator to place triangular glass panels weighing 500 to 550kg.
An awkward panel shape in a tight space
The KAFD development left little room around the working area, and reaching the façade with conventional lifting equipment was not possible. The panels themselves added a second complication: triangular units weighing between 500kg and 550kg, which are considerably harder to control and present than rectangular glass of the same weight.
Spider Plus built the lift around the URW-547, a compact crawler crane designed for restricted and hard-to-reach positions, paired with a GL-UMC600 glass manipulator on the hook.
Manipulator does the fine work
The manipulator gave the installation team the ability to rotate and tilt each panel into its final attitude while the crane held the load, which is what makes underslung glazing installation practical at height. The panels were fitted using an underslung process, with the manipulator maintaining control of the unit through the approach.
The crane contributed reach and stability. Flexible outrigger configurations allowed it to stabilise on uneven ground while retaining precise control, and its telescopic boom and hydraulic system provided the smooth, progressive movements needed when the load is a sheet of glass rather than a steel section.
Dealer capability as much as machine
Despite its compact footprint the URW-547 offers what UNIC describes as an extended reach for its class, and the outrigger flexibility that let the crane find a level, stable set-up on ground that had not been prepared for lifting equipment. Both were prerequisites for reaching the façade at all.
Combinations of this kind — a mini crawler crane plus a powered glass manipulator — have become the standard answer for curtain walling on constrained urban sites, and the technical planning behind them is usually as significant as the equipment specification.
Spider Plus, the UNIC dealer for the region, handled the planning and execution. UNIC Cranes Europe pointed to the project as an example of combining crane technology with detailed lift planning to deliver work that demands both technical precision and careful handling of the load.
The URW-547 sits in the middle of the UNIC range and has become a common choice for glazing contractors who need meaningful capacity from a machine that can still be tracked through a standard doorway or onto a podium deck.
Source: Unic — Photos: Unic