Bennetts Cranes is proud to be providing heavy lifting for a large residential development in Berkshire, on the former site of the Horlicks Factory.
The luxury development, called the Horlicks Quarter, is a Berkeley Homes development, and on completion will comprise five new residential buildings of up to 10 storeys, with around 1,300 homes, commercial spaces and green spaces. The main factory will be converted into apartments and penthouses while elements like the chimney and the clock tower will be renovated to maintain the historic industrial look of the new residential complex.
Bennetts currently has two of four topless saddle jib tower cranes erected and operating on the high-profile development (the second two will be erected in later phases of the development).
“Berkeley Homes placed an order with us for three Raimondi MRT189s and one Raimondi MRT159 for this site. Between August 2020 and February 2021, Bennetts has successfully delivered and installed one of the MRT189 models and one MRT159 city crane. The remaining two machines will be erected in the coming months,” said Edward Seager, Managing Director, Bennetts Cranes.
The MRT159 eight tonne saddle jib crane was erected in one day and is planned to remain onsite for approximately 10 months more, while the MRT189 with a maximum lifting capacity of 10 tonnes was installed over two days and will be onsite for a further six months.
The scale of the Slough Horlicks Factory site, paired with the complex nature of the job site, presented some technical challenges. It includes the construction of new residential blocks, the refurbishment of listed buildings with the usage of mobile cranes and the renovation of historical parts of the site, including the impressive and iconic Horlicks Factory chimney. Due to the mix of activities occurring simultaneously onsite in addition to the variety of equipment involved, it was essential to strategically study the position of each crane, as well as accurately plan the installation and dismantling phases.
“The Raimondi cranes used are flat top cranes and not having an ‘A’ frame enable them to be sited closer together. Minimising the height of the cranes means lower base loadings and less wind load, which lowers costs and improves productivity and safety.”
Bennetts was able to supply an all-saddle jib scheme that would complete the work without over-sailing private properties, occupied blocks, and impacting other surrounding machines.
