Gantries Play Essential Role in Mill Stand Installation

Barnhart was hired to install four 27-foot tall mill stands weighing 250,000 pounds apiece and several other components at a manufacturing plant in South Carolina.  The site was still under construction and had a foundation that had different levels and variations.

The crew set up 600-ton gantries and assembled 60 feet of gantry tracks to span the pits. The stands were loaded onto a hydraulic platform trailer and driven into the building at elevation between the gantries.

The mill stands were attached at the top to multipurpose girders and a 200-ton swivel to the outbound gantry and at the bottom to 500-ton inboard gantries. They were upended by retracting the inboard gantries and extending the outboard gantries.

Once fully upended, the entirety of the load was supported on the outbound gantry system. The inboard gantries were retracted and the mill stand was set to anchor bolts. 

Barnhart also installed three gearboxes and two motors, which required breaking down the gantry system and reassembling it at another part of the plant. The components were placed onto a light slide system to be slid under the 600-ton gantries and moved into place.