Blog Archives | Page 30 of 45

Zoomlion deliver’s ‘world’s biggest’ topless tower

Zoomlion had held a delivery ceremony for a new 160t topless tower crane, the T3000. The company claims (backed up by a Guinness World Records authenticator) that, with a load moment of 31,200kNm, this is the world’s largest topless crane. It will target power generation, as well as arenas, bridges, high rises and other major projects.

The delivery ceremony was held at Zoomlion’s plant in Change on July 26, and was attended by more than 200 guests. Yu Lekang, deputy general manager of Zoomlion’s crane division said that the new crane would change the way supercritical steam generators are erected at power plants, improving construction efficiency and cutting costs.

Huang Qun, general manager of Zoomlion’s crane division, explained that the company had started its development of topless tower cranes with the acquisition of technology from Jost. With cranes like the T3000, the Chinese company had built on this technology with its own research and innovation.

The first of the cranes will be sold to Jiangsu Jiang’an Group’s Electric Power Construction Company, in a deal announced this spring. Zoomlion says that under the Chinese government’s current five year plan, to 2015, total annual electricity consumption is expected to grow by 8.8%. Over the following five years, consumption is expected to grow by 5.6%.

To meet this demand, companies like Jiangsu Jiang’an Group will be building a series of 1,000,000kW thermal power plants.

Zoomlion says that these large thermal power plants require a main tower crane with a large lifting torque, large lifting capacity, wide boom coverage, narrow lifting hook unit, narrow crane body, small base, precise placement, high work efficiency, and reliable safety record, as well as one that is convenient to assemble and disassemble.

Austin buys Tadano

Austin Crane Service has taken delivery of its first ATF 90G-4, at Tadano America’s headquarters in Houston, Texas. Since its arrival in Leander, Texas, the ATF 90G-4 has been used to build and set tanks and was most recently utilised in downtown Austin working inside street barricades with narrow lane closures.

Austin Crane owner and president Larry Taylor said that Tadano’s good reputation was one reason the company decided to purchase the ATF 90G-4. On using the crane since taking delivery, Taylor said, “The manufacturer put a lot of thought into the design of this crane. Our operators love working with it.”
The ATF 90G-4 features a compact design that Austin Crane Service has found to be a big benefit. According to Taylor, the “hydraulic luffer and the turning radius are a huge plus when getting in and out of and working on confined job sites.” Taylor also appreciates the machine’s simple design and on-screen diagnostics that “speed up the process and lessen downtime.”

With a lift capacity of 110USt and boom length of up to 168ft, the ATF 90G-4 features a tiltable cockpit and two oil coolers to keep hydraulic temperatures low. The machine’s automatic moment limiter (AML-C) offers enhanced functionality and the ability to pre-set special job configurations.

USITC judge upholds Manitowoc complaint against Sany

A USITC has issued a final initial determination in Manitowoc’s complaint against Sany, saying that the American crane manufacturer has shown certain products infringe its patents, and that they have shown misappropriation of trade secrets.

The case relates to the two companies’ competing floating counterweight systems. Manitowoc claims that Sany’s system used on its SCC8500 infringes on a patent, US 7,546,928, relating to a mobile lift crane with variable position counterweight. The system was implemented by Manitowoc on its Model 31000, and later on its MLC300 and MLC650 cranes launched at ConExpo.

The full decision has not yet been made public, but a notice promises it will within 30 days. The current notice explains that the administrative law judge has issued a final initial determination on whether there was a violation, and a recommended determination on the remedy that may be appropriate in the event that the USITC finds that there was a violation.

The administrative law judge’s determination is subject to appeal by the federal appeals court. USITC determinations do not result in money damages. Instead, complainants can make a parallel claim in a district court, which Manitowoc is doing in Wisconsin. That case will resume on 23 July.

Manitowoc and Link-Belt help students park

Two Manitowoc crawler cranes and a Link-Belt crawler have completed a 15-week lifting job on a new six-storey car park at Florida International University.

Crane Rental Corporation provided two 300t Manitowoc 2250 crawlers and a 200t Link-Belt HC-248H5 for the project, which involved lifting more than 2,600 prefabricated concrete components. The heaviest component was a 74,000-pound shear wall.

The Manitowoc cranes had 100ft of main boom and 100ft of luffing jib, while the Link-Belt worked with 200ft of main boom.

The 2,400 space car park, built by Solar Erectors, is the sixth at the university’s main campus and will help serve 54,000 students.

New Irish crane hire firm adds Liebherrs

Newly-formed Irish lifting services company BCS Crane Hire Ltd has added a 60t Liebherr LTM 1055-3.2 and a 200t LTM 1200-5.1 crane to its fleet.

BCS (Bill Cussen and Sons) recently set up operations in Limerick, Southern Ireland, following a management split at Cussen & Co Crane Hire which has seen the Cussen family pull out and set up on their own.

BCS said the addition of the cranes to its existing 90t LTM 1090-4.1 would help it to offer customers a comprehensive crane hire service.

Brian Lang, Liebherr Ireland sales manager, said: “The formation of a new crane hire company in Ireland provides evidence to the recovery in the economy and the steady return of growth.”

Kobelco wins CKL1000i crane orders

Kobelco Cranes India is making inroads in the Bangladesh infrastructure development sector with the export of two CKL1000i lattice boom crawler cranes to Abdul Monem Ltd (AML) Civil engineering and building specialist AML deployed the cranes at the Jaydebpur-Mymenshing flyover project for the erection of 70t girders in a tandem lift.

Both units will continue on this project for four months lifting 125 girders before moving to the Padma Bridge project where 670 girders are to be erected.

Kobelco Cranes India, the Indian production and sales subsidiary of Japan-based Kobelco Cranes Co Ltd, said the good number of infrastructure development works ongoing in Bangladesh, together with some mega projects to follow in the coming years, meant the country was a good market for construction equipment.

Projects will include power stations, highway construction, railway bridges and a metro system.