Chicago's Trump Tower Signage Gets a Lift from Spider Access Solutions

Two swing stages powered by a Spider traction hoist help lift 900-lb. stainless steel letters into place outside the 15th floor of Chicago's Trump International Hotel and Tower

A monorail trolley beam was installed at the 17th floor level to enable an SC1500 material hoist to be mobilized and repositioned as needed when lifting each of the massive letters safely into place.
A monorail trolley beam was installed at the 17th floor level to enable an SC1500 material hoist to be mobilized and repositioned as needed when lifting each of the massive letters safely into place.

The challenge:

Install 900-pound "Trump" letters on the 15th floor of Chicago's Trump International Hotel and Tower

The players:

Brand Scaffold
Spider, a division of SafeWorks, LLC
Poblocki Sign Company

The process:

Brand Scaffold used Spider suspended access solutions to install the massive 'TRUMP' letters on the Trump International Hotel and Tower in downtown Chicago. The project scope included the installation of five stainless steel, LED backlit letters to the 15th floor level of the city’s second tallest skyscraper. Weighing an average of 900 pounds, each letter varied in size. Collectively the signage spanned 140 linear feet.

Brand Scaffold rented and rigged two 40-foot swing stages powered by Spider’s SC1000 traction hoists and equipped with walk-thru stirrups for the six-week duration of the project. This granted the installer, Poblocki Sign Company, safe and secure access to the façade for the sign installation.

Additionally, a monorail trolley beam was installed at the 17th floor level to enable an SC1500 material hoist to be mobilized and repositioned as needed when lifting each of the massive letters safely into place.

When considering the structure’s unique rigging challenges, Spider collaborated with contractors to temporarily remove a section of windows on the 17th floor and anchor the outriggers directly into the concrete floor slabs, two stories above the installation site. A staging area was established on the ground level to store and assemble the swing stage equipment prior to the installation, and a portion of Chicago’s famous Riverwalk
below the installation site was closed to pedestrian traffic throughout the project’s duration to ensure public safety.

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