Palazzani helps Hastings secure pier

Hastings Pier, located in the south of England, suffered an arson attack in October 2010 and the structure became a danger to the public. Remedial work was urgently needed to make it safe while awaiting a final decision regarding its future.

Tracked Access Ltd supplied a Palazzani XTJ42 tracked spider to provide access the structure so demolition experts could remove dangerous sections. Tracked Access, the UK Palazzani dealer, supplies a range of specialist access and lifting equipment for hire or sale and selected the Palazzani XTJ42 as the most suitable machine for the job.

The Palazzani XTJ42 was chosen because of its long reach and powerful tracked chassis. The wide rubber tracked chassis was needed to power the machine over the pebbles and onto the beach at low tide and race back up the beach before the tide engulfed it.

Tracked Access supplied the specially adapted machine and the skilled operator to complete the task. The weather and sea presented as many difficulties as the job itself. Work was carried out, whenever the tide allowed (day and night), at a height of over 40m and taking full advantage of the Palazzani's 20 m outreach. The wind speed was constantly monitored by the operator and the outriggers were supported on a 3m square base of railway sleepers.

A spokesman from the demolition company said, "I have used all types of cherry pickers over many years but have never been so impressed by a machine. The Palazzani did everything we wanted and was amazingly stable."