Spider provided six, 40-foot platforms at the ThyssenKrupp USA steel processing plant in Calvert, Ala.

Seattle-based Spider recently provided a powered access solution and training for the installation of steel girder beams on a new structure at the ThyssenKrupp USA steel processing plant in Calvert, Ala., saving the contractor more than $50,000 and 10 days of set-up and tear-down time compared with built-up scaffolding options.

Industrial contractor LPR Construction required extremely efficient installation, equipment relocation and dismantling on ThyssenKrupp’s 175-foot-wide, 234-foot-tall hot dip galvanizing line structure to minimize the impact of the plant’s production. Spider provided six 40-foot platforms powered by electric traction motors and rigged with truss outriggers to enable the contractor to work two columns simultaneously. After Spider’s swift mobilization, the contractor was able to get to work the same day. The truss outriggers then allowed for quick and easy relocation of the rigging, enabling the workers to move from one drop to the next in just 30 minutes.

“We are thoroughly pleased with every aspect of Spider’s involvement on this complex project,” said Charlie Anstaett, LPR’s site manager. “From the initial consultation to the plan development to the technical support and service, Spider delivered not only quality equipment but a quality experience. We have 11,000 tons of steel to erect on this structure, and will have a similar job on another unit in the near future — we couldn’t tackle a job of this magnitude without Spider’s support and expertise.”

Founded in 1947, Spider, a division of SafeWorks, created the powered suspended access business by introducing the Spider basket. It is No. 70 on the RER 100.