This past November, nine Vic’s employees journeyed into Downtown Minneapolis for work. But instead of heading inside one of the metro’s many skyscrapers, they were working to get on top of one. Vic’s was hired by Master Mechanical to lift HVAC equipment onto the roof of the 315-foot Rand Tower. The project ended up being one of the most complicated tasks that Vic’s has completed in quite some time.

Planning for a crane job in a busy downtown metro was complex, but no one has more experience navigating both a difficult lift and City regulations than Vic’s. In addition to considering limited spacing on the site, road closures and skyway locations, Vic’s also had to coordinate with City staff, metro transit, police, and fire departments to work around sporting events and concert schedules. A 550-ton crane with 176,300-pound counterweight and nearly 219 feet of luffing jib was required due to the confined space, and had to be assembled on site. Even with two road closures, Vic’s had just enough room to be able to make the lift and was the only company in the area with the expertise and equipment to do so.

Though the actual project took just three days including set up and demobilization, Vic’s staff took their time making sure the lift would be safe. From measuring the skyways to taking underground hazards into account and working closely with City staff, Vic’s employees made a complicated lift look like just another day at the office.