US crane rental company Bay Crane is adding 26 new cranes

US crane rental company Bay Crane is adding 26 new cranes and boosting its transport fleet to support its new branch in Carlstadt New Jersey.

The new cranes included 12 new All Terrain cranes from Grove and Liebherr topped by the company’s third 500 tonne Liebherr LTM 1500-8.1. In addition it has ordered 14 new Rough Terrain cranes from Tadano, topped by the new 145 tonne three axle GR 1600XL, the largest Rough Terrain crane available in the USA. The order expands Bay Cranes all Tadano RT fleet.

Half of the new cranes have already been delivered in the first quarter, while the remaining deliveries are expected to be completed by the end of the second quarter.

The transportation fleet has been increased with eight new heavy duty tractors from Kenworth, 32 additional axle lines of Goldhofer’s self-propelled electronic steered modular transporters, and an additional 80 flatbed and lowed trailers.

Keith Arden operations manager at the new Carlstadt facility said: “Our significant investment in equipment, as well as the addition of multiple operations, project management, and sales professionals, highlights our strong commitment to both our clients and our team members to providing the highest quality of service, personnel and equipment in the region. Bay Crane has proven its ability to grow organically in the Northeast over the last six years and with the addition of the new facility clearly demonstrates our strong commitment to growth and providing the highest quality service to our heavy lift, rental, and transportation customers.”

First Link Belt ATC3210 all terrain crane delivered

Crane Service has taken delivery of one of Link-Belt’s new ATC-3210 185 tonne/210 ton All Terrain cranes. The company is also adding a fifth Link-Belt ATC-3275 249 tonnes/275 ton/ All Terrain to the fleet.

The Albuquerque, New Mexico based crane rental company said: “We are excited to add the Link-Belt ATC-3210 to our current fleet. The 210 ton All Terrain crane is fitted with many new features, which will help our crew stay safe. One such feature is the addition of cameras that are accessible to the driver. He can now see behind him and to the right of him when he is driving and working. Helping him travel and work safer. The ATC-3210 will be working throughout the Southwest.”

The deal for the new crane was negotiated prior to Conexpo, with an official hand over photograph taken during the show.

Grove Crane Care dealer for Ireland

Manitowoc has appointed Irlequip as its Crane Care dealer for Grove cranes in all of Ireland.

The company will provide a complete after-sales support – including spare parts, service and training – for all Grove crane customers in the region, supported by Manitowoc Crane Care’s UK team. Manitowoc will also continue to provide direct sales to Ireland.

Established in 2005, Irlequip is based in Moate, County Westmeath , where it has purpose-built training facilities alongside a large workshop and yard. From this location it claims to be able to reach almost anywhere in the country in under three hours.

The company specialises in the sale and service of construction equipment, including Gehl skid steer loaders, Putzmeister concrete pumps and Dynapac rollers throughout Ireland and Northern Ireland and is dedicating one of its team to servicing Grove cranes and investing in a dedicated service vehicle.

Steve Bradby, Manitowoc Crane Care director for the region said: “Irlequip offers the same high-quality service and dedication to its customers as we do. They are well known in the market and we are confident they will help us to expand our service and strengthen our relationship with Grove customers across the country.”

Irlequip founder John Ledwith added: “We are delighted to represent Manitowoc Crane Care and provide support for Grove cranes. We are committed to providing the highest level of service to our customers and our work philosophy fits well with the goals of Manitowoc Crane Care. We look forward to working with Manitowoc and its customers, as well as developing its presence in Ireland for many years to come.”

Mammoet opens office in Egypt

Heavy and lift transport company Mammoet has opened a new location in Cairo, Egypt and established a company- Mammoet Egypt, which will be managed by director Khaled Ahmed.

The Cairo branch is Mammoet’s second new office in the past 12 months and follows the opening of a branch in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku. Both new locations will support project operations. The company says that it is also relocating more people to its branch in Algeria, to meet growing demand.

Jan Kleijn chief executive of Mammoet Holding said: “This year marks the occasion of Mammoet’s 40th anniversary in the Middle East. We are proud to have made great progress in expanding our operations, and to be involved in many key projects including Dubai Metro, Habshan, Jubail, Shaybah, Dubai Mall, and others. Opening a branch in Egypt is a big step forward in enhancing our regional coverage for our clients. Power, civil, energy and infrastructure industries can all benefit from Mammoet’s know-how in optimizing the uptime of plants andinstallations, and improving construction efficiency.”

Tower cranes collide in London

Two tower cranes collided over Canary Wharf in London, UK today seriously injuring a 35 year old man.

A flat top Yong Mao saddle jib tower crane was set up over the top of a Jost hydraulic luffing jib crane, and we are told that the jib of the higher crane was low enough to strike the luffer which had its jib in the out of service position.

Subsequent reports have confirmed that the injured man, was the operator of the Jost crane, which is owned by LTC (London Tower Crane service). We understand that the man suffered lacerations to his head but is stable.

The principle contractor on site is Balfour Beatty which has confirmed that an incident occurred and that a man was injured. The HSE is investigating.

Balfour Beatty is exceptionally safety concious, so it seems implausible that the luffing jib would have been set up so that it could reach into the path of another crane’s jib. However our sources on this are highly reliable. The point is that setting up a saddle jib crane over the top of a luffer is never a good idea.

Safety alert for tower cranes

Following the recent collapse of three luffing jib tower cranes during high winds the UK’s Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has issued a safety alert relating to tower cranes.

The alert is intended for tower crane operators and serves as a reminder that any luffing jib cranes left unattended in the out of service condition must be in free slew with the jib at a safe out-of-service radius.

It also states that operators must ensure they have the most accurate, up to date information from the supplier or manufacturer, as some manufacturers have recently changed their guidance.

Other actions that are also required include:

– Checking that information provided by the manufacturer/supplier includes the correct minimum out of service radius.

– Checking both after erection and periodically in service, the function of the device that releases the slew brake and places the crane in free slew.

– Checking both after erection and periodically in service, that the condition of the slew drive motors, gearboxes and slew ring bearing has not deteriorated to the extent that the crane is prevented from slewing freely.

– Checking both after erection and periodically in service, the setting and function of any devices that warn the operator that the crane jib has not been left parked at the correct out of service radius and/or the slew brake has not been released.

– Ensuring that operators have been provided with instructions on how the crane should be placed in free slew and the correct radius at which the jib should be positioned when leaving the crane unattended. This should include measures to routinely check that the operators understand and are following the instructions provided.