The ESTA awards 2021 were announced on 22nd April in an online event. The two-hour event was a combination of awards ceremony and a market webinar addressing some of the key issues facing the crane and specialised transport sector. 

Sarens won the “Crane Job of the Year” award in the lattice boom category for its 5000T SGC-250 super heavy lift ring crane working at the Hinkley Point C nuclear power project in the UK. 

Sarens SGC-250 is currently supporting the construction of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station - currently the UK's largest and most complex civil engineering project. The crane will perform more than 700 lifts at the site over the next four years, on behalf of client Bylor and project owner EDF/ NNB. The loads range from precast concrete elements to pipe sections, steel rings, and machinery equipment weighing from 10 to 1600 tonnes. The SGC-250 will also lift five major parts of each unit’s steel containment liner and dome.

Sarens SGC-250, the largest crane in the world in both size and capacity, has a maximum load moment of 250.000TM, allowing it to lift an astonishing 5000T. Even at a larger radius of 100 meters, it can lift an amazing 2000T. SGC-250, designed in-house by Sarens, has the most unique ability in the global crane industry to relocate the fully-rigged crane on site from one lifting position to another.

Despite heavy wind, the SGC-250 was safely rigged at the HPC site in 10 weeks. The specially designed 700T capacity SARSPIN was also assembled. SGC-250 recently lifted 382T steel band that will encase one of the reactors at Hinkley Point C. The total weight being lifted was 575T including the tackle. 110 lifts out of total foreseen 706 lifts have been executed and the crane has travelled 16 times up & down the rail system out of the foreseen 52 relocations.

Sarens is proud to receive the award and want to thank our research and development team for developing the biggest and safest crane in the world, engineering and operations team for excellently planning and executing the challenging Hinkley Point project.