SGC-250 has been onsite at the Hinkley Point C nuclear plant since 2019 supporting the construction of the UK's largest and most complex civil engineering project. 

The Hinkley Point C project is currently the UK's largest and most complex civil engineering project. The project will be supplying 7% of the country's low carbon electricity and also creating around 25.000 employment opportunities throughout the construction phase. 

Big Carl is commissioned to perform more than 700 lifts at the site over a period of 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 1.600T. The SGC-250 will also lift five major parts of each unit’s steel containment liner and dome.

Senior Project Manager, Dirk Vinck says, “Despite heavy wind, the SGC-250 was safely rigged in 10 weeks. Our crew mobilised 2x CC2800’s, a 220T, a 130T, and a 100T mobile crane to assist the rigging of the SGC-250 from the UK yard. The specially designed 700T capacity SARSPIN was also assembled. Site congestions limited the rigging of the massive crane.”

The 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. The team has executed 110 lifts out of the total foreseen 706 lifts and the SGC-250 has travelled 16 times up & down the rail system out of the foreseen 52 relocations.

Sarens SGC-250 has a maximum load moment of 250.000TM, allowing it to lift an astonishing 5.000T. Even at a larger radius of 100 meters, it can lift an amazing 2.000T. 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.