With its powerful hydraulics the CK1600 is the newest model in Kobelco's crawler crane line. The CK1600 is a 160-ton crane that is shown here with a 120-foot boom. The machine was sold to STG, Inc. of Anchorage, Alaska. STG, Inc. has been very pleased with the machine's operation and performance since it was delivered. The machine is located in the native village of Akiachak, AK. The village is situated on the Kuskokwim River about twenty river miles upstream of the hub village of Bethel, a large village of about 5,000 people. The village has a population of about 800 Yupik natives. Akiachak is accessible by barge in the summer months from May through September. There are no roads in the area and is only accessible by flight or by snow machines and vehicles on the frozen rivers in the winter time. The closest roads to the area are out of Anchorage, AK - 340 miles to the east.

This job was driving 16" x 70' closed end pipe piles for a new school in the village. The featured photo shows the CK1600 picking up the tubular 8" x 32" x 100' piling leads. STG, Inc. used an American Pile Driving Equipment Hammer that is a D25- 32, 58,248 lb energy single acting diesel hammer. "The CK1600 easily handled the leads and hammer out to an 80-foot radius," says Jim St. George, President of STG, Inc. Equipped with a 332 horsepower Mitsubishi engine, the CK1600 has a transport weight of 86,420-pounds and a working weight of 306,000-pounds. The CK1600 can be equipped to a maximum boom length of 250-feet, or for added versatility, a fixed jib length of 100-feet with 200-foot of main boom, or a maximum luffing jib length of 175-feet with 160-foot boom.

For more information about the crane line Kobelco has to offer please visit us at www.kobelcocranesnorthamerica.com or call 713.856.5755.