Yongmao sells 10 cranes to Myanmar

Chinese tower crane manufacturer Yongmao has sold ten cranes to Singapore crane sales and rental house Erect Group, for an end user in Myanmar.

The SGD3m (USD2.39m) deal will see Yongmao deliver 10 of its STT cranes through 2014-2015. It follows the manufacturer’s first sale in the country (also commonly known as Burma) at the start of this year.

As Myanmar democratises and its economy opens up from years of sanctions and restriction, companies like Yongmao are seeing new opportunities. Yongmao executive director and group general manager Sun Tian says deals like this are an important part of his company’s export strategy: “Following our first foray into the Myanmar market, we are expanding our foothold in this region. We foresee that urbanization and economic development will drive higher construction activities to support this progression.

“Eyeing the potential demand for infrastructure across Asia, we hope to continue to promote the Yongmao brand, quality and service in order to cater to the need for quality tower cranes. We believe our competitive edge lies in our product and service: our tower cranes have obtained the relevant product safety and design approval of various countries and we provide premium after-sales service.

“Moving ahead, we hope to continue our push into Myanmar by securing more contract wins with well-established tower crane rental firms there.”

Revenue from Asia, besides China, contributes 25.1% of Yongmao’s turnover for its nine months ended 31 December 2013 (“9M2014”). Revenue from this geographical segment has increased 11.6% from RMB155.0 million for its nine months ended 31 December 2012 (“9MFY2013”) to RMB173.0 million for 9MFY2014.

Yongmao is on the lookout for collaborations with existing customers who have plans to enter the Southeast Asia market. Such partnerships include working with Singapore rental companies and contractors to provide towercranes in Myanmar, Vietnam and Indonesia. Besides this, Yongmao hopes to participate actively in various trade fair and exhibition in Southeast Asia.

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.

Heavy storm took down two tower cranes in Belgium

A heavy storm in northern Belgium on Saturday took down two tower cranes at the site of a new hospital in Oekene, Roselare.

The foundations/base of the cranes, which appear to be traditional Liebherr top slewers, look to have been the weak point with both going over fully intact. Four other similar cranes on site survived the storm intact.

The storm also severely damaged over 20 homes and a large tract of greenhouses. The foundations of the two cranes appear to have given way in the face of the storm.

Tower crane struck by lightning strike in France

Four men on a building site in France were shocked and burnt yesterday morning after a bolt of lightning hit a tower crane in Saint-Jean-de-Luz just South of Biarritz in the South West of the country.

Two of the four men are seriously injured and were rushed to a hospital in Beyonne while the other two were treated in the local hospital.

The crane operator, 30 metres up in his cab, was uninjured in the incident, although somewhat shocked. He described the event as a massive ball of fire and a huge noise which rocked the crane as it ran down the jib and tower to earth.

There were two tower cranes and around 40 men working on the site of a new clinic at the time the lightning struck. The four injured men were standing closest to the crane.

Tower crane destroys garage in Germany

An operator dismantling a self-erecting tower crane in Germany is said to have made an error that resulted in the crane overturning at a site in Osterhofen Bavaria. Thankfully on one was hurt in the incident which occurred on Friday

The tower of the crane went over the back of the counterweight and landed on a garage completely demolishing it. Two houses either side were reportedly untouched.

The crane was supplied from the rental fleet of Kaiser Baumaschinen, which dismantled and carted it away yesterday. A police statement clearly blamed the overturn on operator error, although it has not been confirmed if any independent accident inspectors had seen the crane before it was removed.