COMPANY
Vogel Steinmetz & Bildhauerwerkstatten GbR

DATE
2020

LOCATION
Veitsbronn, Germany

PRODUCT
PORTAGANTRY®

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A REID PORTAGANTRY® lifting and lowering system helped stonemasons working on the altar of a catholic church dismantle the 10-tonne structure safely and easily.

The Background

The catholic church in Veitsbronn, Germany has an altar with a total weight of 10 tonnes. The pedestal supporting it needed to be braced, which meant dismantling the altar itself and storing it safely while the work was carried out.

The Challenge

The church has a stone floor which needed to be preserved, as well as a basement underneath the altar, which meant that no heavy lifting or industrial machinery could be brought in. The challenge was to choose a lifting and lowering solution with the capacity to lift the three separate sections of the altar, but which would do no damage to the fabric of the church itself.

The Solution

The stonemasons Vogel Bildhauer contacted REID’s distribution partner Bruno Glettenberg to help them identify a lightweight solution which could lift the altar parts and move them away from the pedestal under load. The Bruno Glettenberg team recommended a REID PORTAGANTRY® 5T/ 11000lb aluminum lifting system with a 12’ 10” wide beam.

With a goods lifting capacity of 11,000lb and an A-frame weight of just 194lb, the PORTAGANTRY® met the requirement perfectly. The beam height of 11’ 5” meant that it could be positioned across the altar to remove the different sections at the outset and then move and lower them separately to a safe location. Swivel locking castors meant the stone masons themselves could lift and move the separate sections of the altar with relative ease.

Once the pedestal work was completed in less than four weeks, the PORTAGANTRY® was used in reverse to reposition the sections of the altar and restore it to its former glory.

The feedback

The stonemasons were impressed by the fast response from Bruno Glettenberg, who delivered the PORTAGANTRY® to the site within two working days.