crawler crane Archives | Page 9 of 11

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.

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.

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.

Liebherr reports turnover boost for cranes business

The Liebherr Group’s tower crane and mobile crane divisions performed well in 2013, recording a turnover growth of 10.4% and 7.1%.

Liebherr’s annual results showed an increase in its cranes business, despite an overall 1.4% dip in group turnover to €8.96bn, which the firm explained as being partially due to reduced sales in the earthmoving and mining divisions. A 34% overall fall in group earnings to €364m was put down to a backdrop of “moderate economic progress”.

Liebherr’s tower crane turnover was €395.5m which the manufacturer said was due to an improved performance in Germany, Switzerland and Russia. Whilst its mobile division reported a €2.07bn turnover explained by the firm as being linked to growth in Germany, the Netherlands and the USA. The maritime cranes division saw a small rise in turnover to €830.1m.

Western Europe was Liebherr’s strongest growth region with turnover up by 4.8% to €4.15bn. Eastern European business shrank by 13.2%, while the Middle East was steady at €306.5m. Significant increases were seen in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

In America, Liebherr described business as positive, with turnover dipping only slightly to €1.47bn. Africa registered a 2.4% turnover rise to €606m, while the Far East/Australia region was 9.7% lower at €1.50bn.

Group investments in 2013 matched the previous year’s level at €830m, with the mobile cranes division investing €86.3m. The tower cranes division invested €73.2m with €71.1m invested in maritime cranes.

The company said that initial estimates for 2014 suggested its total turnover would be similar to 2013, with the total workforce expected to further increase.

Manitowoc show Algerian ambition

Manitowoc has said it intends to use two Algerian trade shows, Batimatec and Algiers International Fair, to demonstrate its determination to expand and develop in country. The firm is showcasing a Potain self-erecting crane and Grove rough-terrain crane at the events with two of its local dealers, Sarl VIBA and Eurl MGP.

The manufacturer said that as well as its direct sales and support services, it would work closely with its dealers in Algeria who supply its full range of Potain tower cranes, Grove mobile cranes and Manitowoc crawler cranes. The dealers will also provide complete after-market services including technical assistance, assembly, handling and training.

Carlos Pimenta, Manitowoc area manager for Algeria, said: “Demand for our cranes in Algeria has steadily increased over the past few years and the country’s growing economy makes us very ambitious for this exciting market. We have operated in Algeria for many years and have built a strong dealer network and widespread support service. Now is our time to build on this foundation, and these two trade shows are an ideal way for us to showcase our capabilities and highlight our desire to grow.”