Crane industry news Archives | Page 28 of 37

Merkel extends fleet with Tadano ATF 50G-3

Merkel Autokrane GmbH has taken delivery of another Tadano ATF 50 all-terrain crane.

The latest fleet addition, an ATF 50G-3, follows Merkel’s purchase of three Tadano units – the ATF 50-3, ATF 65G-4 and ATF 220G-5 – in 2012.

The 50t ATF 50G-3 has a 40m main boom and consists of a 7t counterweight, 32t hook block, 6t swivel hook and a jib or main boom extension of 9/16m within a 12t axle load model.

Merkel said high lifting capacity, compactness and easy handling were factors in its purchasing decision.

Its use of Tadano cranes stems back to 2011 when it expanded its fleet with an ATF 65G-4.

Liebherr LR 11000 works for the first time

Liebherr says the first operational use for its Liebherr LR 11000 1,000t crawler crane has completed its first lift at a Romanian oil refinery.

The LR 11000 was used by Felbermayr to work on a constricted site with a 35m by 35m working area at the Petrom refinery in Plojesti near Bucharest to lift giant steel cylinders, the largest of which measured 58m in length, weighing 335t and with a radius of 27.5m. The erection of the lattice boom and 36m luffing jib had to be completed in a narrow alley just 5m wide.

Liebherr said that the load handling was exciting as it was not possible to determine the exact weight of the column.

This was due to additional items being fitted to the largest tank. Only when the LR 11000 and an accompanying LR 1750 had fully lifted the load did they realise it was 55t overweight at 335t.

To overcome the slewing process over a high pipe bridge, the column had to be raised to a hook height of 80m, the radius reduced and the crane moved just a few metres. Without reducing the radius of the suspended ballast pallet by around two metres to 13.5m, the guying roads and ballast would not have cleared the pipes and pillars.

The LR 11000 will continue to work at the refinery until the end of July. Felbermayr has a fleet of around 70 cranes working at the site, which is being shut down for a general overhaul.

Boom Booster increases Terex CC 8800-1 lift capacity

Terex has launched the Boom Booster kit for its CC 8800-1 crawler crane designed to significantly increase lifting capacities and reduce transport costs.

The company said the booster kit was ideal for heavy lifting applications with long-boom configurations, such as wind turbine erection and power plant installation, as well as on petrochemical projects.

Terex said the Boom Booster, available with new crane purchases or retrofits, increases the CC 8800-1 crane’s lift capacity by 90% thanks to up to 72m of lift-enhancing boom structure.

The wedge-shaped lower and upper adapters flare out to a 10m width, nearly three times the standard boom width, for structural integrity. Five 10m long intermediate segments offer the ability to meet up to 50m length needs.

Terex said the kit could be shipped in standard 12.2m open-top containers for transportation cost-efficiency. In markets with container weight limits of 28t, Terex said nine truckloads are required for transportation to site, while 40t container limits means seven truckloads are possible.

Mammoet expands in Antwerp and LATAM

Mammoet has opened a new crane depot at the Port of Antwerp and new offices in Latin America.

The new Antwerp depot is designed to ensure Mammoet has cranes in the vicinity of its customers in the petrochemical, container shipment and dredging industry, giving quick services and helping to optimise customer project planning and delivery.

Mammoet’s new offices in Sao Paulo, Brazil, replacing the company’s previous premises in the city, will serve as the main offices for the whole Latin America region. New offices are also now open in Bolivia and Rio de Janeiro to reinforce Mammoet’s local presence.

Christiaan Lavooij, managing director of Mammoet Latin America, said the company was expanding its business in Latin America by providing a full range of services in support of clients’ projects.

It is continuing to work with Sao-Paulo-based IRGA, a major Brazilian transport and logistics company. The partners have worked together on several large projects, including in the wind power industry.

Spydercrane equips mini crawlers with Hirschmann

Spydercrane has equipped four models in its mini crawler range with Hirschmann’s new qSCALE I2 load moment indicator (LMI).

The URW375, URW376, URW547 and URW706 models now feature the qSCALE I2, designed to assist operators by displaying crane load and geometric information, including actual/allowable load, boom length, boom angle, radius and anti-two block.

The LMI has a colour graphic display and customized software to meet Spydercrane’s requirements.

Spydercrane models equipped with the qSCALE I2 are already in use in the oil, gas and construction industries.

ALE load-out at 47,830t platform

UK-based heavy lift specialist ALE completed a 47,830t load-out of a Russian oil and gas production platform.

The load-out of the Arkutun Dagi topside, occurred at the Arkutun Dagi oil field of the east Russian coast and was also a first of a kind project for ALE’s Mega Jack system. The 42,780t topside was jacked to a height of 24m in 11 hours, with the Mega Jack configured in four sets of towers, giving an overall jacking capacity of 60,000t.

ALE’s full scope of work included stand jack pulling, a high capacity modular ballast system and 3D barge monitoring, as well as full engineering work and project supervision.

The weight, which included a 5,135t support frame, working tolerances of the barge were smaller than during conventional load-outs.

The high capacity modular ballast system was adapted for each barge, with 2400 Cu M/Hr ballast pumps used, enabling the pump and power pack operation to be completed from one central control using computerised control.