Ainscough Crane Hire reaches 1,000 lifting day milestone at HPC
Ainscough Crane Hire will chalk up its 1000th day of lifting activity at the construction of EDF Energy’s new Hinkley Point C power station since it first started working on the Somerset site in 2015.
The company, which will reach this important milestone in February, has been providing lifting solutions to the Tier 1 Contractors including Bylor, Kier Bam, Costain and Balfour Beatty and to over 40 sub-contractors on site with tasks including assembly of concrete batching plants, installation of mobile offices and assistance with civil engineering elements such as drainage and retaining walls.
With a dedicated project team Ainscough’s work at Hinkley Point C has seen 22 different crane types used on site ranging from 40Te to 750Te; the 750T is the largest mobile crane to be used on site to date.
Matt Jarman, manager for Project Team said: “Working at Hinkley Point C for 3 years has given us the opportunity to develop a deep understanding of the needs of the largest construction project in Europe and to build a local project team to support the ramp up of activity on site”.
“This project is a long-term commitment for us and we will strive to continue provide lifting solutions over the coming months and years.”
On reaching the 1000 lifting day’s milestone; Mike Milledge, Hinkley Point C’s Lifting Manger, said: “Congratulations to the Ainscough Team on achieving 1000 lifting days on site, the team have worked hard to understand the needs of lifting to our Nuclear Site Licence standard which is all about performing tasks safely.”
Hinkley Point C is the first nuclear power plant to be built in the United Kingdom for decades and will provide 7% of the nation’s electricity needs. The twin unit UK European Pressurised Water Reactor (EPR) will be capable of generating 3,260MW of secure, low carbon electricity for 60 years, powering around 6 million UK homes.
