Kittyhawk Products, a hot isostatic pressing company based out of Garden Grove, CA, was charting new territory: the small, family-run business recently opened a second manufacturing facility in Canby, OR. The company provides services to the casting industry, and opening this new facility would allow them to serve their growing customer base in the Pacific Northwest.

This exciting growth would include the installation of four potential presses in the new facility–and Omega Morgan’s Portland machinery moving crews were called upon to install the first of these four new presses.

Space was tight and delays presented challenges, but this is where our machinery moving crews shine.

The Challenge: No Headroom and Looming Delays

The first item we needed to tackle was the extremely tight workspace. The rigging challenge was unique; we weren’t able to open any penetrations in the roof to lower the press in by crane from the outside. Even if we uprighted the press outside, it was too tall and the facility’s doorways were too short to move it indoors.

It was no easier inside the facility–there wasn’t enough headroom to upright the press without utilizing the pit the presses would sit in once they were installed. The headroom limited our gantries to under eight feet of stroke, making the process of uprighting the 16-foot-long vessel very complex.

Delays also cropped up, threatening to cost valuable time. Transportation of the press was held up due to permitting. This delay could set off a cascade of other delays; manufacturer’s representatives and other trades were all scheduled to do work based on the original delivery date–which now looked very much in question.

The Solution: Taking the Time and Doing it Right

Before we started on the project, we took time to figure out the exact rigging lengths, which would be critical when working in such a tight space. Then, we executed the move using our custom-built, 250-ton gantry–an Omega Morgan designed and fabricated lifting bracket.

To make sure the customer wouldn’t be affected by the shipping delays, Omega Morgan’s crews worked long hours into the nights and weekends so the press would be installed on time. We were intent on doing whatever we had to do to reduce any delays to the project.

We’re thrilled to have had the opportunity to support Kittyhawk’s growth and expansion into the Pacific Northwest with the installation of this hot isostatic press, and we’re proud of our machinery moving team for using their expertise to ensure the complex installation happened smoothly and on time.