en.Wedoany.com Reported - In July 2026, Italian rental company NMG Italia transported a 2.8-ton Jekko SPX328 crawler spider crane via helicopter to a mountainous area at an altitude of approximately 2,050 meters in the Puez-Odle Nature Park in northern Italy, for the construction of an alpine hut. The crane was disassembled into four components, each weighing no more than one ton, which were individually airlifted by helicopter to the construction site and then reassembled.
NMG Italia is a crane and aerial work platform rental company headquartered in Italy, with operations covering multiple regions across the country. The Puez-Odle Nature Park, located in the Dolomites of northern Italy, is part of a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site. Due to the rugged terrain, traditional ground transportation methods were inaccessible, making helicopter transport the only feasible logistics solution. The hut construction project aims to provide essential service facilities for the park.
According to NMG Italia, the entire SPX328 crane was fully disassembled on site. The four components—battery pack, chassis, outrigger system, and telescopic boom—were each transported by helicopter to the construction site, where they were reassembled in reverse order. This process required precise planning of the center of gravity balance and lifting sequence for each component. To minimize helicopter flight time and reduce on-site work duration, the team developed a detailed disassembly and reassembly plan in advance, ensuring efficient and safe operations.
Stefano Vecchiato, Project Manager at NMG Italia, stated: "Finding the optimal solution for this special case was key to the project. We chose the SPX328 because it is compact, flexible, and designed for quick disassembly into lightweight components, making it easy to transport by helicopter or light vehicle." He also noted that careful planning of the disassembly process, component weight distribution, and reassembly operations at high altitude effectively controlled logistics costs and on-site work time.
Jekko is a renowned Italian manufacturer of mini crawler cranes, headquartered in northern Italy, specializing in the research, development, and production of compact lifting equipment. The SPX328 is one of the company's core products, with a maximum lifting capacity of 2.8 tons and a total width of only 0.78 meters, allowing it to easily pass through standard doorways and operate at full radius without counterweights. The model is equipped with a lithium battery power system, enabling zero-emission operation, making it suitable for construction environments with strict environmental and noise control requirements.
This alpine hut construction project demonstrates the logistics and installation capabilities of compact cranes in extreme terrain, as well as the feasibility of completing infrastructure construction in environmentally sensitive areas through modular design and precise planning. The Jekko SPX328, with its lightweight, disassemblable, and battery-powered design, proved to be the ideal choice for this high-altitude construction.
