This high-profile project involved expanding the overall capacity of the Anfield Road stand at Liverpool Football Club with an extra 7,000 seats. As a result of the £80 million programme of work taking place, the ground is now capable of holding more than 61,000 people.
The new stadium roof was constructed over the existing roof structure so that Liverpool Football club could play home matches. This allowed the expansion to be carried out while Anfield Road was still in use.
MGF were contacted by Ainscough Crane Hire Limited to collaborate on designing and manufacturing bespoke lifting beams for the roof removal. Together, the two organisations combined their strengths, expertise, and commitment to tackle such a challenging project.
This case study looks to expand on their collaboration, demonstrating how it overcame the issues faced and allowed Liverpool Football Club to remove the existing roof whilst construction of the new roof had occurred above it. This collaboration highlights the significance of working relationships in influencing the future of construction and engineering.
MGF’s Structural Support Solutions team had already been tasked with designing support towers to support the roof when being cut into sections for removal. Given MGF’s pre-existing understanding of and involvement with the project, as well as their unrivalled specialist expertise, MGF’s Lifting Team where appointed to design two sets of bespoke underslung lifting beams. Once in place, the beams enabled the old stand.
Anfield Road Stadium Extension
Liverpool Football Club
Chris Whitworth, Business Development Director
Highly bespoke lifting solution developed using company-wide expertise provided by MGF
When developing the beams, MGF’s Lifting Team had to incorporate two 500+ tonne crawler cranes that were positioned on the pitch and were creating minimal headroom (2.1 metres) and travel room (800mm). The solution involved making sure the beams cradled the main support trusses within the roof. This enabled it to be safely cut free and lowered to the ground.
In addition, the roof’s centre of gravity was not central, which resulted in MGF’s engineers changing the lift point locations to complement the cutting plans. Overall, MGF provided extensive support that tapped into the wealth of expertise that exists across the entire company.
“From the outset, MGF demonstrated an unparalleled level of commitment and expertise that was essential to the project’s success. After conceptual design from us, MGF’s involvement in developing bespoke lifting beams was instrumental in achieving our goals.
The challenges we faced were substantial. Due to the presence of enormous crawler cranes on the pitch, there was tight headroom and travel room restrictions. Additionally, the uneven distribution of the roof’s weight required intricate calculations and precise lift point adjustments. In such a high-stakes project, there was absolutely no room for error.
MGF’s Lifting Team, with their profound understanding of the project and their vast specialist knowledge, rose to the occasion brilliantly. They developed lifting beams that cradled the roof’s main support trusses, enabling us to safely cut and lower the sections. The level of precision and care taken by MGF’s engineers in addressing the project’s unique challenges was truly commendable.
Perhaps one of the most remarkable aspects of our collaboration with MGF was their ability to deliver the custom lifting solution within an astonishingly short timeframe of less than four weeks. This efficiency and dedication ensured that the project remained on schedule.”
David Baxter, Ainscough’s Technical Contract Manager
MGF’s Lifting Team designed, certified and supplied the lifting beams within less than four weeks. Close collaboration with Ainscough Crane Hire throughout made this possible.
The final solution was two pairs of beams with an overall lifting capacity of 120 tonnes. At the same time, MGF’s Structural Support Solutions’ Team also ensured that the UniShore Towers used to deliver their element of the project were designed to adequately support the roof while it was being cut into sections, before being lifted to the ground, utilising the four bespoke beams. A significant number of technical calculations were carried out in advance by the Lifting Team to ensure the off-centre gravity point was accurately accounted for.
“In 2021, MGF made a strategic move by establishing our Lifting & Safety division. We engaged in extensive discussions with our valued existing customers to gather their feedback on lifting market segment. Our fundamental values revolve around commitment, innovation, and sustainability – principles that have been effectively put into practice. Our partnership with Ainscough and Liverpool Football Club has enabled us to leverage our expertise, and we anticipate future collaborations with Ainscough on challenging engineering lifting projects.”
Chris Whitworth, Business Development Director
The Underslung Lifting Beam is used in pairs, these are positioned under the item requiring lifting, this is then attached …
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