CRANES AND LIFTING: November/December 2017

GOING THE DISTANCE

30 candles in the wind

INSIDE

$9.90

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017

• The Top 50 • Adelaide does us proud • Plugging the gaps

GOING THE DISTANCE

32 14 CONTENTS | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017 39 30 candles in the wind

14 CRANE ART

Crane spotting for high art

39 CICA CONFERENCE Adelaide does the crane industry proud

18 CICA INDUSTRY REPORT 47 ELEVATED WORK PLATFORMS/ACCESS 21 TOP 50 SIA PACIFIC REPORT: 52 ASOUTH KOREA ACE CRANES 32 PCELEBRATES From the president

Plugging the gaps

The inaugural Top 50 Crane Owning Companies

A Gottwald for South Korea

30 candles in the wind

RANES IN ACTION: 35 CNSW Complex ferry terminal lifts win national lift award

Cranes and Lifting is a media partner of

Senior Editor: Jacqueline Ong (jacqueline.ong@mayfam.net) Editor: Greg Keane (greg.keane@mayfam.net) Journalists: Jan Arreza (jan.arreza@mayfam.net), Simon Gould (simon.gould@mayfam.net), Catarina Fraga Matos (catarina@mayfam.net), Patrick Lau (patrick@mayfam.net) Creative Director, Patterntwo Creative Studio: Toni Middendorf Advertising sales: Heidi Paracchini (heidi@mayfam.net or 0406 872 055) Marketing and customer support: Benjamin May (ben.may@mayfam.net) Subscriptions: Email: subscriptions@mayfam.net Web: www.insideconstruction.com.au Publisher: Ross May (ross@mayfam.net or 0400 868 456) Office: Level 13, 333 George Street, Sydney, New South Wales 2000 Email: contact@mayfam.net Website: www.insideconstruction.com.au COPYRIGHT WARNING: All editorial copy and some advertisements in this publication are subject to copyright and may not be reproduced in any form without the written authorisation of the managing editor. Offenders will be prosecuted.

WANT TO GO

EDITOR’S NOTE

DIGITAL? NOW YOU CAN

Find out more at insideconstruction.com.au

The end or a new beginning?

T

he end of a year is often a time for reflection on the past, and planning for the future. If you’re really lucky, you’ll have a short break before you get into it again next year with renewed vigour.

Reflections are the old-fashioned selfie, but with one important difference: the mirror reflection gives you a chance to take a critical look at yourself whereas the selfie screams to the world, “Look at me!!!” Arguably the first has more enduring value.

As a magazine, we’ll have a period of reflection, and no doubt make a few changes for next year.

We’ve returned from the CICA conference in Adelaide, and applaud the organisers for putting on a good mix of content, exhibitions and venues; as well as that old (often undervalued) favourite of seeing people that you haven’t seen for a while.

We confess to being a little disappointed with the number of entries in the lift categories - but certainly not with the quality. We know, from talking to you, that good lifts are happening regularly.

We also know that you are time poor, but many of you are finding the time to put pics on your Facebook pages, etc.

Over the next year, we plan to have some detailed coverage of the entrants and winners of the various categories, to reward their effort in supporting the awards and showcasing their industry, as well as themselves.

We are also planning regular coverage of lifts as they occur - they don’t have to be big lifts, just something interesting and some good pics to tell the story visually. For the more complex lifts, we can work with lift plans to extract detail and get to draft stage,

if there are quality pics showing the important details that we can use to help our readers understand your work.

The old Contractor magazine has been relaunched by our owner, Mayfam Media, as Inside Construction. Those of you who attended the crane conference may have seen the first issue on display there. If not, you can find a digital copy online on issuu (as well as copies of Crane and Lifting).

Where you are working on an infrastructure project, there is an opportunity to showcase this to the broader construction community in our sister publication. Your client will generally need to OK this, but it’s a way to build your relationship with that client.

Stay safe!

Greg Keane greg.keane@mayfam.net

MEWP FATALITIES DECLINE GLOBALLY THE fatal injury rate (FIR) for mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs) declined in 2016, despite the fact that the total MEWP rental fleet and the number of rental days worldwide increased significantly over the same period.

The data, collated and interpreted by the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF), indicate that in 2016 there were 66 reported fatalities involving MEWPs worldwide, compared to 68 deaths reported in 2015. During the same period, the size of the global MEWP rental fleet rose from an estimated 1.17 million units at the end of 2015 to 1.25 million estimated at the end of 2016.

In 2015, the number of on-hire rental days was 192.2 million and the number of reported fatalities was 68, giving a FIR of 0.035 per 100,000 operating days. In 2016, the number of on-hire rental days rose to 206.1 million and the number of reported deaths was 66, giving an effective FIR of 0.032 per 100,000 operating days. This is equivalent to one fatal incident every 3.2 million operating days.

Of the 66 reported MEWP fatalities in 2016, the main causes were falls from height, electrocution, entrapment and overturn of machinery.

“It is disappointing to see the same main causes of fatalities being repeated year-on-year, which suggests that the industry as a whole is not learning the lessons from previous incidents - in 2016 falls from height accounted for 38% of the reported fatalities and electrocution 23%. There were fewer fatal overturns (12% of total fatal incidents, as opposed to 27% in 2015), but entrapments accounted for a higher proportion of the reported deaths (18%) than the year before. In 2015, electrocution and entrapment both accounted for around 15% of the total reported fatalities,” Chris Wraith, IPAF’s safety and technical executive said.

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November/December 2017

Advanced lifting technology

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NEWS

News updates at www.insideconstruction.com.au

Construction boom “far from over” OVER the past six months, the number of tower cranes dotting Australia’s skyline has increased, an indication that the construction boom is not over.

Releasing its Q4 2017 RLB Crane Index in September, Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB) revealed that the total number of cranes in the country rose to 685 over the last six months and there has been an increase in cranes in every key city across Australia, apart from Canberra and Darwin.

“Contrary to popular belief, the boom is not dead yet!” RLB Director Stephen Ballesty said.

“The continuing strength of the construction sector within Australia is reflected in a 4% lift in the RLB Crane Index to a record level of 161,” he added.

The bi-annual RLB Crane Index is now in its 11th edition and for the first time, the company has created both an Australian residential and non-residential crane index to complement the overall index, which reflects the movement in crane numbers over time in these key sectors of the overall construction market.

Highlights include: • The index value of 161 is the highest since the index commenced in 2012.

• Of the 685 cranes across Australia, 350 are in Sydney, 151 in Melbourne, and 116 are in Brisbane and the Gold Coast combined.

• 109 Sydney suburbs and 54 Melbourne

suburbs have residential cranes.

• The residential index value is now 177, up from 138 two years ago.

• The nonresidential index value is now 117, up Source: RLB Crane Index. from 92 six months ago.

• 339 cranes have been added since the last index and 308 removed from completed projects.

Australia and 54% of all cranes supporting the country’s residential sector. All up, 109 suburbs in Sydney have residential cranes erected.

Non-residential

Melbourne soars

According to RLB, the non-residential index is more volatile although it is still showing a positive trend.

At present, the index stands at 111, up from 101 in Q2 2016. The volatility, RLB said, stems from large fluctuations in crane starts due to the smaller investor base for new developments and traditionally a single purpose use.

In Melbourne, the number of cranes has reached a new high at 151, up from 146 in the previous index. 88 cranes were added and 83 removed from sites.

RLB noted that over the past six months, there has been a move of cranes from the south to the east and west, indicating growth of higher density residential project in these regions.

Meanwhile, there was a small gain of one crane in commercial projects, with 31 cranes on projects across Australia. This sector currently accounts for 5% of all cranes.

Residential In Sydney, residential cranes rose to 298, amounting to 43% of all cranes erected in

Two of the three Raimondi cranes erected onsite in Sydney.

THREE NEW TOWER CRANES DOT SYDNEY’S SKYLINE RAIMONDI Cranes’ NSW-based agent, Strictly Cranes, has sold three Raimondi tower cranes to residential builder-developer Piety THP. The two MRT159s, with 1.7m masts, and the 10t MRT152 with a standard mast section, are scheduled to be on the One The Waterfront jobsite, in Wentworth Point, and will be operational for three years.

Turning to the MRT159, Strictly Cranes said the configuration of this crane was deemed advantageous because of its high freestand, and the fact that it can be climbed with lesser bracing to attain the highest points of 100m.

“On this particular jobsite, One The Waterfront, the cranes are tasked with lifting rebar, precast panels, and other site materials like timbers, formwork and scaffolding. The cranes will also hoist excavators out of the hole, and other heavy machinery as needed,” said Ramey Alkhoshaibi, founder and commercial director of Strictly Cranes.

The three cranes were erected in one day each, with Strictly Cranes arranging technicians and riggers to erect the cranes as safely and as quickly as possible. Strictly Cranes also arranged for tier one operators and dogmen to ensure smooth operation of the crane and that respective project timelines are respected.

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November/December 2017

NEWS

News updates at www.insideconstruction.com.au

New Demag turns heads

Terex’s new Demag AC45 City Crane.

TEREX has debuted the latest model in its City series, the AC45 City Crane, saying it is the most compact crane in its class, designed to stay in the 12t axle load limit.

For starters, the new three-axle unit redefines compactness in the 45t lifting capacity class with a total length of only 8.68m, a width of 2.55m, and an overall height of just 3.16m.

November/December 2017

Its height can also be reduced to under 3m, a plus for indoor work.

The base section of its fully hydraulic 31.2m main boom has a length of 7.8m, and can lift heavy loads at a small radius. It also has configuration flexibility. For instance, it can be arranged with the 1.3m-long runner for loads of up to 25t or with the three sheave hook block,

which allows for six-pat reeving. And with offsettable main boom extensions of 7.10m or 13m, the system length can be increased to 44.2m.

In addition, the Demag AC45 City also comes with features such as an axle load indicator, a hook height indicator, cruise control, and cameras for load, hook and hoist monitoring and for backing up. Remote radio control and storage boxes are included as well.

According to Terex, one of the engineering highlights is the IC-1 Plus control system, which calculates the crane’s lifting capacity for every boom position as a function of the superstructure’s slewing angle and in realtime. This means that the lifting capacity for a specific radius is no longer limited to the lowest value for a pre-calculated 360° lifting capacity, as used to be the case. Instead, the crane can always take full advantage of the maximum available lifting capacity.

The IC-1 Plus control system also has a ‘smart’ feature to calculate and show the working range of the real-time lifting capacity within +/-30° slew angle, and it features an automatic counterweight detection function that the crane operator needs to confirm.

On top of this, and for the first time ever, the crane offers the possibility of working with the IC-1 Plus control system both when using the runner and when telescoping under load.

7

NEWS

News updates at www.insideconstruction.com.au

Sennebogen takes comfort to the next level SENNEBOGEN has unveiled its new Maxcab - the first generation was launched in 2006 promising more room, comfort and a better view.

The latest version comprises a number of innovations, including being 70mm longer. It also features a sliding door, like its predecessors, to continue to provide convenient and safe access to the cab.

However, the opening width of the door has been enlarged compared to the previous model.

Additionally, the cab windshield has been pulled down to the base plate, optimising the view to the front in material handlers in particular.

Together with the large side window panels, this provides a panoramic view over the entire work environment. Meanwhile, the new floor mat is

flush with the access opening, making the floor easy to clean.

All of the operating elements are easy to understand and intuitive to operate. There are charging sockets for electrical and electronic devices on the right behind the driver seat to ensure that all necessary devices are always ready for use. Additional storage places in the interior keep things tidy and within reach inside the cab.

The air conditioning in the cab has been further improved by means of optimised air conduction with a total of nine outlet nozzles.

The developers of the new cab were also able to use sound-absorbing materials and structural solutions to significantly reduce the

noise level in the cab once again.

Being 70mm longer, the new Maxcab offers operators more space. (Source: Sennebogen)

KONECRANES LAUNCHES CUSTOMER TOOL KONECRANES has introduced Crane Advisor, an online tool to help customers narrow down their crane options with customised recommendations.

“Crane Advisor is a service that makes the information retrieval a lot easier and more efficient for our customers,” says Jari Myyryläinen, vice president, Konecranes Industrial Applications.

“Crane Advisor offers the customer valuable information which is customised according to the lifting needs.”

To get a crane recommendation, customers need to answer four key questions around industry, capacity, span, and duty class.

After submitting the answers, the user immediately gets a personalised overhead crane recommendation.

With this recommendation, the customer can familiarise themselves with the product offering even before continuing discussions with a Konecranes sales representative.

CRANE TRAINING VR SIMULATORS ARRIVE IN AUSTRALIA INDUSTRIAL Training International (ITI) has launched its craning training VR simulation platform, which it showcased at the CICA conference in September.

TI VR, distributed exclusively through A. Nobles & Son Ltd (Nobles) in Australia and New Zealand, features hundreds of training and testing scenarios for crane operators of all skill levels. Activities include pre-lift inspections, basic and advanced lifts, hand signals and voice commands, catastrophic equipment failure, extreme environmental conditions, and industry-sanctioned obstacle courses and assessments.

TI VR features hundreds of testing and training scenarios for crane operators. (Source: ITI) Cranes include real-world models developed in partnership with Broderson, Liebherr, Link-Belt, Tadano, and Terex.

Additionally, the company’s simulation-as-a-service model allows community subscribers to access new crane types, scenarios, and features on a continual basis.

“Nobles is always on the look-out for the latest lifting and rigging products and services to bring to our customers in Australia. The ITI VR crane simulation system represents a great leap forward in terms of quality and value over previous generations of flat-screen simulators and has already received an overwhelmingly positive reception from operators that have experienced it first-hand. We are delighted to become ITI’s exclusive distributor in Australia and New Zealand and look forward to demonstrating the VR crane simulator to our customers over the coming months,” Nobles managing director Guy Roberts said. More on page 38.

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November/December 2017

NEWS

News updates at www.insideconstruction.com.au

JCB Chairman Lord Bamford leads the cheers to celebrate the JCB Loadall’s 40th anniversary.

MAXILIFT EXPANDS

JCB Loadall marks 40 years in production IN October, JCB celebrated its long record of machine design, marking the 40th anniversary of the Loadall telescopic handler.

Launched on October 20, 1977, the Loadall mechanised lifting and loading tasks on building sites that had previously been carried out by work crews.

JCB has sold more than 220,000 Loadalls to date, generating more than £7 billion in sales

(AU$11 billion). Export sales have accounted for £4.5 billion of the total.

Today, daily output of JCB telehandlers at the World HQ in Staffordshire, United Kingdom is at its highest level since the launch, with the number of machines built expected to increase by 25% by the end of the year compared to 2016. Such is the success of the product that one Loadall rolls off JCB’s Rocester production line every six minutes.

Moving a piece of history

FOR the first time in five years, the Apollo 4 capsule will be put on public display and Mammoet had a hand in making that happen.

Ahead of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo’s first flight, Mammoet transported the Apollo 4 capsule from the NASA Stennis Space Center in Pearlington, Mississippi to the nearby Infinity Science Center.

The 10.5-foot (3.2m) tall command module made the first unmanned, “all-up” test flight of the Saturn V rocket. The nine-hour flight demonstrated the S-IVB third stage restart and tested the heat shield upon reentry.

Before moving the historic piece, Mammoet had to put together a detailed plan to get the capsule from the first floor of the Space Center six miles (9.65km) away to the second floor of the Science Center. Early in the engineering phase, several challenges were identified including floor loading on a hollow platform, tight clearances and working around obstructions that could not be removed such as HVAC ducts.

On the day of execution, the module was lifted from its location in the Space Center with a forklift and transported over the road by a trailer to the Infinity Science Center where it was set on castors and rolled into the building.

Mammoet proceeded to set up a skid track on top of a mobile gantry system and placed the module on the system with a forklift. The Mammoet transporting the Apollo 4 capsule from the NASA Stennis Space Center.

MAXILIFT Australia has opened a new location in Regency Park, north of Adelaide, saying the new site is the the next step in the company’s growth and will provide better service to the company’s clients by way of technical support, installations, servicing and maintenance of VLC fleets.

“With this new branch, we can reduce cost for our northern-based customers with the associated travel time that it takes for cranes, trucks and personnel to reach our site in the south,” said Kymberly Davis, Maxilift Australia’s general manager.

“This branch makes Maxilift Australia the only company in Adelaide to service both the north and south.”

Adding six technicians to the team means not only will Adelaide customers receive great service, Maxilift’s national dealers and customers will also receive extended support.

The new northern branch of Maxilift Australia will offer servicing on all makes of cranes and will showcase some of the products supported by Maxilift Australia including Maxilift, Unic, Effer Cranes and Tommy Gate Liftgates.

alignment of the gantry, skid track, and lifting orientation with the forklift were all critical in avoiding the HVAC ducts. The gantry was then walked 50 feet (15.24m) to the second-floor overhang to skid the capsule into position. With fractions of an inch of clearance around the ducts, the team worked efficiently to skid the capsule off the gantry and into place.

“The Mammoet team was extremely professional in their execution of the move.

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NEWS

News updates at www.insideconstruction.com.au

Raimondi unveils heavy lifting innovation RAIMONDI Cranes has released its flat top MRT 234 for wider purchasing - it had been presented earlier to Raimondi’s exclusive agent network - following months of preparation.

“Raimondi’s R&D team worked with various suppliers for four months to build the prototype, erected in beta in August 2017 at our headquarters in Italy,” Raimondi Cranes technical director Domenico Ciano said.

“The final stage of testing took three months including pre-assembly of the crane, evaluating many different types of configurations and all of the model’s structural tests.”

Speeds of the slewing and trolley movements have been improved by approximately 30% while smoothness of motion and heightening accuracy have also been enhanced.

GROVE INTRODUCES NEW ALL-TERRAIN TAXI CRANE

The MRT234 erected at Raimondi headquarters in Legnano during beta testing. (Source: Raimondi)

The new crane has a maximum length jib of 70m and a maximum capacity of 12,000kg with four falls configuration.

At the maximum radius, it can lift 2250kg in Ultralift mode and there are eight different jib length configurations, from 70m to 28m. The MRT234 may be equipped with two different hoisting winches - standard installed power of 45kW or the more powerful 55kW. The new Grove GMK4090.

(Source: Manitowoc)

MANITOWOC has launched a new all-terrain taxi crane, the Grove GMK4090, which it says places emphasis on roadability and manoeuvrability.

The new crane represents a generational upgrade over the previous GMK4080-1/GMK4100B models.

Manitowoc has also introduced the GMK4080-2 with an 80t capacity.

The GMK4090 offers a 51m, six-section MEGAFORM boom that utilises Grove’s TWIN-LOCK pinning system.

Boosting its overall reach is a 9/15m bi-fold swing-away jib that can be extended with a 6m boom extension for a total jib length of 21m.

The GMK4090 can travel with a maximum 18.3t counterweight and within 12t axle, it can transport up to 9.1t to the job site without the need for an additional transport truck. The crane features compact dimensions, with a narrow 2.555m width and has a minimum tail swing of only 3.53m.

The GMK4090 also offers the new MAXbase feature as an option, a variable outrigger setting gives the crane more setup flexibility on the job site, and it features Manitowoc’s Crane Control System (CCS).

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November/December 2017

NEWS

News updates at www.insideconstruction.com.au

Skyjack shows off largest articulated boom device

Skyjack’s SJ85 AJ. (Source: Skyjack)

MOBILE elevated work platform (MEWP) manufacturer Skyjack, has lifted the covers on its largest articulated boom device to date, the SJ85 AJ, unveiled at the JDL trade show in Beaune, France in September.

It has a working height of 27.91m and boasts an up-and-over clearance of 10.36m as well as a horizontal reach of just over 17m.

Its dual platform capacity is 340/227kg and features 360-degree continuous turret rotation. Operators will also appreciate the inclusion of Skyjack’s proprietary control systems, which purport to prevent drifting during vertical rise and allow the fly boom to touch the ground without lowering the riser.

Features built into drive systems include directing-sensing steer controls and an axle-based drive system.

TEREX’S TOWER CRANE FAMILY GROWS JUST months after launching its hammerhead tower crane at Conexpo, Terex has once again added to its tower crane family, this time with its 20t CTT 472-20 flat top tower crane that expands the maximum jib length to 80m and increases load charts over previous models, offering the same lift capacity on the whole jib length with a maximum load at full length of the jib tip of 4t.

Offering a 470 ton-meter load moment, the CTT 472-20 has 11 different jib configurations from 30m to 80m. Its hoist, slewing and trolley speeds allow operators to quickly and precisely move and position heavy loads. All jib sections come preassembled with a lifeline for quick, safe installation at height, while galvanised jib walkways deliver long-lasting quality.

The CTT 472-20 can be configured with H20, HD23 or TS212 Terex mast sections or a combination of any. Additionally, the new Terex cabin will be installed on all flat top, hammerhead and luffing jib models, which features a large full-colour 18cm display with anti-glare screen and built-in heating and air conditioning.

A new control system includes the Terex Power Plus feature that can temporary increase the maximum load moment under controlled conditions, giving the operator extra 10% lifting capacity. Power match allows the operator to choose between operating performance or lower consumption to fit lifting needs.

Terex’s newest tower crane addition.

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KHL’S INTERNATIONAL NEWS ROUND-UP

Around the world with KHL Cranes and Lifting has partnered with supplier of international construction information KHL to bring you news from around the world. Here’s a snapshot of what’s been happening around the globe.

The Sarens SGC 140.

SARENS UNVEILS THREE SUPER HEAVY LIFTERS In October, Sarens unveiled the second of its giant cranes, the 140,000 tonne-metre (Tm) rated SGC 140. The new super heavy lift ring crane was erected in the Port of Gent, Belgium, before being shipped to Kazakhstan where it will go to work for three years on the Tengizchevroil TCO project developing the Tengiz and Korolev oil fields.

International heavy lift and transport specialist Sarens already has a slightly smaller version of this design, the 120,000Tm SGC 120. At the time of writing it was at work loading out jackets and other platform components in Newcastle in the United Kingdom. Both cranes lift 3200t but the 140 lifts more to a longer radius. They are based on the design from California, USA-based Rigging International, a company owned by Sarens since May 31, 2009.

An even larger version of this crane design on the drawing board is the 250,000Tm SGC 250 which will be available in 2019, Wim Sarens, Sarens CEO, said at the SGC 140 launch event. In addition, there will be a smaller crane, the 90,000Tm SGC 90, in 2018, Sarens said.

The SGC 140 was erected at the launch with 118m of main boom. It can also be 89m and the maximum is 130m. A jib up to 99.5m is available to go on the 130m boom. It will lift 2820t at a 50m radius, Sarens said.

The outer diameter of the ring at the base of the crane is 43.6m and there are 96 wheels for the crane to run on around the double rail ring track. On the machinery deck there is room for eight winches, each with a 60t line pull. There are also six powerpacks, an electrical container and the operator cabin. Each of the 40 specially designed and constructed corrugated steel containers making up the counterweight weigh 100t when filled with local material. For transport the material is emptied out and they are used to ship parts and components of the crane.

MacGregor’s Active rotation control in action. The company says it enables faster load handling, helps save energy, and reduces cargo damage.

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CRANE ORDER FOR BULK CARRIERS Chinese shipyard Yangzijiang has ordered hatch covers and cranes for five 62,000 dwt open hatch bulk carriers from marine cargo and offshore load handling specialist MacGregor.

Equipment deliveries will start in 2018 and continue until 2019.

The order comprises the delivery of 20 cranes (four per vessel) and the design of key hatch cover components. Each crane will be fitted with an active rotation control (ARC) system which MacGregor said stabilises and automatically rotates a load in the air. To do this, the system has an automatic swivel control that maintains the cargo’s position during the entire operation, stated MacGregor. When activated, cargo positioning times can be shortened by up to 30%, the company claimed. Shorter positioning times and a smooth drive lower energy consumption and increase efficiency, the company added.

CONTINUED RISE FOR PALFINGER Palfinger Group’s revenue rose by 9.7% to €1,093.1 million (AU$1655.17 million) in the first three quarters of its financial year, setting a new record for the reporting period.

Operating profit rose more significantly, with a 12.6% rise in EBITDA to €147.6 million; this resulted on an EBITDA margin of 13.5%.

The company said the main reasons for the expansion were good performance in Europe, Russia and China, as well as the acquisitions and changes made by the group since 2016. As expected, the ongoing restructuring in North America and in the marine business had a detrimental effect on earnings.

November/December 2017

The Liebherr LR 11000 crawler crane, owned by Transportes y Grúas Aguado, moves concrete blocks weighing up to 180t at the port of Coruña.

FIRST LIEBHERR LR 11000 IN SPAIN Spanish crane and transport contractor Transportes y Grúas Aguado, based in Madrid, has purchased a Liebherr LR 11000 heavy duty crawler crane. It will primarily be used for work in the infrastructure, petrochemical and general industry sectors, although the company’s owner, Juan Aguado, said: “The sophisticated design of the LR 11000 makes it perfect for a wide range of possible uses.” This could include wind turbine erection, if there is enough demand, the company added.

According to the crane’s manufacturer, Liebherr, the LR 11000 is the first of its type sold in Spain. It also said it is the largest crawler crane it has sold to Spain in the last six years. The LR 11000 has a maximum lifting capacity of 1000t and a wide range of possible booms. Due to its compact design, it is also suitable for use in constricted site conditions, Liebherr added.

The LR 11000 has already completed its first job - moving 36 concrete blocks weighing up to 180t at the port of Punta Langosteira in Coruña, northwest Spain. The crane had an 84m main boom and suspended ballast, giving it a working radius of between 50m and 60m.

ALE COMPLETES IN AZERBAIJAN

ALE used its Mega Jack system to raise the QU platform by 14.5m.

Heavy lift and transport specialist ALE has completed its offshore and marine operations on a major offshore platform project in Azerbaijan.

The UK-headquartered company was contracted to load out two jackets, weigh and jack-up the topsides, perform strand jack skidding load-outs, plus ballasting and mooring operations as well as the offshore floatovers for two topsides. Work began in July 2016 with the ballasting load-outs of the production and riser and the living quarters and utilities platform jackets, weighing 13,977t and 12,369t, respectively.

Jacket constructor BOS Shelf contracted ALE for the external ballast system and engineering, including the ballast system design and calculations. The jackets were loaded-out onto the 153m x 45m x 12m STB-1 launch barge. ALE used the client’s push-pull skidding system.

The next phase was to weigh and jack the QU topside for a separate client using ALE’s Mega Jack system. Load cells weighed the deck at 12,789t and the Mega Jack elevated the topside by 14.5m. Before the deck was skidded out the load-out frame was transferred under the topside. For this, 900t strand jacks were used and the barge was ballasted. The deck now weighed 14,200t. After that ALE did the floatover using its ballast system and mooring winches.

Last on the list was the load-in of the load-out frame, followed by the weighing, jack-up, load-out and floatover of the PR topside.

THAI COMPANY ORDERS ECO-FRIENDLY RTGS Thai integrated terminal and logistics services company BMT Pacific has ordered four SmartPower rubber-tyred gantry (RTG) cranes from Finnish cargo handling solutions specialist Kalmar. The new Kalmar machines will serve BMT Pacific’s river terminal on the western banks of the Chao Phraya river - an inland waterway in central Thailand.

According to Kalmar, its SmartPower RTG crane offers an environmentally sustainable solution to customers through its fuel-saving capability and fully electric design. Kalmar claimed its SmartPower RTG uses up to 10 litres less fuel per hour than most of the diesel RTGs on the market due to its significantly smaller diesel engine and intelligent power management system. It said the refined design requires fewer components and results in higher efficiency with less failure, less downtime, less maintenance, and a low dead weight.

The cranes will be 6+1 rows wide, 1-over-5 high, and equipped with eight wheels. They will have variable speed diesel engines and lightweight all-electric crane spreaders from spreader manufacturer Bromma. The lifting capacity under the spreader will be 40 tons.

DEMAG LIFTS BEER TANK German crane rental company AKM Autokranvermietung (AKM) was commissioned by Munich brewery Paulaner Brauerei to lift seven 26m-long beer tanks, weighing 28t each, into its new brewery building.

The tanks had to be lowered through a hole in the roof, the circumference of which was only 10cm wider than the tanks’ 6.5m circumference, so precision was a priority. To do the job AKM Autokranvermietung utilised its Demag AC 500-8 all-terrain crane which, according to AKM general manager Sven Bauer, “had the required size and performance characteristics.”

The work had to be completed on a tight schedule and so the crane’s short set-up time helped with this, said the crane’s manufacturer, Terex Cranes. It took three hours to set it up with a 56m main boom, a 14.4m LF extension, 120tof counterweight, and an SSL system, Terex stated.

AKM had a six-member team on-site and two assist cranes were used in a tandem lift to first move the tanks into an upright position so that the AC 500-8 could pick them up. The Demag crane then lifted each load to a height of 50m. The crane’s radius of 32m meant the tanks could then be swung over the new building’s roof and lowered through the hole.

CL

November/December 2017

13

CRANE ART Tower cranes in London before Dalton works his magic.

Crane spotting for high art Here at Cranes and Lifting, we’ve always said that cranes are the workhorses of many a sector but they’re also works of art. And we’ve found someone who agrees with us. Jan Arreza reports.

C

raig Dalton (#CRG_DLTN) is a self-styled post-postmodern artist (also known as an ‘urban pop’ postmodern artist) from Brisbane who specifically captures photos of cranes and turns them into pieces of art.

A unique subject for a photographer, Dalton began photographing cranes in his hometown almost by accident several years ago, while out and about in town one day after purchasing his first high-end camera.

“I was walking home one day with my camera in hand, I turn around and I look at the landscape of the city and I notice a lone crane on the horizon,” Dalton said “For some reason, something about it just spoke to me so I began taking photos of it. And that’s basically how this journey to becoming what I call a ‘crane spotter’ all began for me.

“Working and living close to the city gave me the chance everyday to go out and find more of these cranes in the city, especially in the mid to late-2000s, when Brisbane entered its construction boom period.

“There’s an art form to it, and as time went on I found myself being more and more able to relate with that lonely crane in the sky and appreciate them more, which I believed helped with my photography and artwork.”

The thing about a crane that inspires Dalton artistically is its unique shape and the imagery 14

it portrays of a unique looking creature atop a city’s skyline.

“I want to try and get people to connect with something that they would just walk past everyday and not even really pay attention to,” Dalton said.

“I like to look at the bits that are missing such as the gaps in between the cranes and the actual shape that it has. They really are the lonely figures in the city’s skyline and that’s exactly what I’m trying to represent in an artistic way.

“They almost remind me of those old-fashioned monster movies, kind of like King Kong hanging on the side of a building.

It is something of a throwback in that sense, almost giving it some personality and character, which is exactly what I want to try to convey with my art.”

Apart from the unique subject matter of his artwork, Dalton truly sets himself apart through how his art is created.

“When it came time to start doing something with my library of crane shots that I’d built up over time, I began experimenting with a few different ideas on how to present my final work,” Dalton said.

“In the end, I knew in my heart that metal is the base that it’s got to be on. So I began looking for places where I could get a plain sheet of metal and realised that it was just not

economical, as it would’ve cost me thousands of dollars every single time.

“I began to think of how I could make it economical, yet still unique and interesting, and one day a street sign just happened to catch my eye for some reason and then something clicked. So now I buy construction and street signs, with one of the main ones that I use

One of Dalton’s early shots of a crane working in Brisbane.

November/December 2017

The shot after Dalton adds his finishing touches.

Two cranes are better than one? Cranes building Sydney.

being the 600x900cm with a boxed edge to provide the border for my artwork, which I then vinyl-wrap.

“I finally found a canvas I could use that I know isn’t going to disappear tomorrow. After a bit of research, I was also lucky enough to find a Brisbane company that I can order and pick them up locally.”

Dalton just wrapped up his ‘The Cranes of Brisbane 2017’ exhibition at the Aspire Gallery in Paddington,

Queensland, where he also officially began what he calls ‘International Crane Spotting Day’ at the end of the event on November 4.

And in an exclusive to Cranes and Liftingremember, you heard it here first - Dalton reveals that he has planned a ‘monochrome tour’ for 2018, where he will be showcasing all of his favourite black and CL white shots.

A ‘lonely figure in the sky’ in London.

Always on the lookout for cranes. This one’s of a crane working atop a building in San Francisco.

CL

All images courtesy of Craig Dalton (#CRG_DLTN).

November/December 2017

15

WORLD CRANE AND TRANSPORT SUMMIT NASA’s Crew Resource Management is now used in all air safety exercises. (Credit: NASA Remix Man, Flickr CC)

Safety sets the scene for innovation The fifth World Crane and Transport Summit in Amsterdam brought together a global network of 250 senior lifting and specialty transport executives to discuss best practice issues that ‘challenge’ the sector.

Mayfam Media owner and Cranes and Lifting publisher Ross May attended the Summit as a guest of organiser KHL Group.

S

afety was front and centre at the Summit and setting the scene with his opening keynote address, Hendrik Sarens, director of Sarens NV told delegates: “We will build the future one load at a time and it is our job to make sure our people are safe”.

“And whilst we don’t like to talk about it, we need to recognise the dark side of safety - ‘machismo’ - pushing things to the point they break is one way to find your limits but it cannot be ours.”

Hendrik, whose grandfather founded Sarens by lifting and moving trees with a horse and cart was adamant that the innovation that has driven Sarens and the global industry for three generations will continue.

“Today we are building nuclear power plants by lifting in modules of 3000t, and we’re jacking up and skidding units of 15,000t. Soon, that will be 50,000t.”

Hendrik challenged the industry to keep innovating, keep expanding the limits, but not at the expense of risking our people. In closing, he quoted Henry Ford who famously remarked: “If I had asked people what they wanted they would have said faster horses.”

Building on Hendrik’s message, Marco van Daal, a 25-year heavy lift and transport industry veteran, made what I believe was the standout presentation of the Summit.

Titled ‘Anatomy of an accident’, van Daal pragmatically (and graphically) ran through his findings from analysing every lifting accident he has been made aware of in recent years with the objective of identifying ‘where did things really go wrong’. van Daal offered the observation that in no instance was there a rogue employee or a 16

CFO: “What happens if we train our people and then they leave?”

CEO: “What happens if we don’t train our people and then they stay?”

single cause and in only 1% of instances was ‘other’ the key finding, meaning that we just don’t really know. In these instances, we can only speculate on third part causes such as the distraction of out-of-work issues. Consequently, we can identify what really went wrong 99% of the time, which given safety performance is not improving, is cause for thought.

In 4% of instances, engineering was the cause - an inexperienced lift engineer planned the lift and their work wasn’t checked, or wrong data/calculations caused the error.

15% is attributed to training and van Daal pointed out that more than half of the training sessions he delivers are to companies after they have had an accident. Prior to the accident, they typically thought they knew all they needed to know. The main reason cited for not training personnel was cost, no time, or no experience.

And a whopping 80% of ‘what really went wrong’ came down to communication.

According to van Daal, people need to be trained and empowered to communicate properly.

He cited NASA’s development of an assertive statement process called Crew Resource

Management following a space shuttle accident - training that is now commonly in use in air safety exercises and other applications where human error can have devastating effects.

NASA concluded that safety is every crew member’s concern and that concern overrides every other hierarchy - all crew members must be empowered to ‘assertively’ identify a safety concern and ‘call it in’.

The five steps, which can be abbreviated in emergencies are: 1. Call attention 2. Raise concern 3. State problem 4. Propose solution 5. Force a response (this is the most important step to create two-way communication). van Daal’s point is that the tools are available so let’s use them and let’s be safe.

Frankly, I admired his straight talking, gimmickfree approach. We can talk until the cows come home or we can adopt proven, available knowledge to improve safety performance.

If effective communication training can remove 80% of accidents then, we have an absolute obligation to make sure our people are safe and embrace this now.

Delegates tune in as safety in the sector is discussed.C L

November/December 2017

CICA Products

CICA offers a range of products to assist in areas fundamental to the safe operation of your cranes.  Crane Log Book - Operator Safety Checks available to cover the following crane types - Mobile Crane, Vehicle Loading Crane and Self Erecting, Electric Hammerhead, Electric Luffing Jib and Diesel Luffing Jib Tower Cranes and Transport.

 Crane Safety Manual - a valuable reference which details how to safely operate the crane and identify any hazards.

 Training & Work Experience Log Book - for crane personnel to record formal qualifications and industry experience.

 Computer Based Training CDs – self paced learning including the 3 CD Set (1. How To Read Crane Load Charts, 2. Crane Operator Training Needs Assessment, 3. How To Set Up Mobile Cranes); Safe Use of Pick & Carry Cranes and Dogging In The Workplace, How To Use of Vehicle Loading Cranes Safely.

 Training DVDs – to assist with staff training including Safe Use of Vehicle Loading Cranes, Crane Pre Start Checks

Toolbox DVDs - 5 minute training video's, including Working Around Powerlines and Crane Prestart Checks

THE CRANE INDUSTRY COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA PO Box 136, Mount Waverley Vic 3149 Phone: 03 9501 0078 Fax: 03 9501 0083

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To order visit the CICA Website Online Store at www.cica.com.au

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November/December 2017

17

CICA INDUSTRY REPORT

From the president At 405 delegates, this year’s annual CICA conference “Elevate Your Thinking” in Adelaide might not have been the biggest but it was significantly up on last year’s 336, and for those who attended it certainly didn’t disappoint.

W

e opened with a keynote address of a remarkable family business success story told by Glenn Cooper AM, Chairman of Coopers Brewing.

One of the aspects I love about this industry we work in, is the large number of family-owned businesses amongst our membership. Judging from the comments I heard during the course of the show, many had wished they were aware of the Coopers family business model before they started up their own businesses ... What do they say? Better late than never?

Of course, for those “committed” CICA members, the formality of the conference starts before the keynote address… and yes, even before the welcome reception. I am of course referring to CICA’s AGM, where we officially announce the newly elected CICA board members as well as some other fairly dry formalities required under our constitution.

One of which is to receive the President’s and Chief Executive’s Reports. These, along with all the State Branch Reports and a wealth of other member information are all contained in our Annual Corporate Report. If you want an extensive overview of what CICA has accomplished and is working on, then this is an excellent place to look. It is available on the members only section on the CICA website under CICA members document, Annual Corporate Report. And if you don’t have your company’s login details, just ring the CICA office, they will be sure to help.

Our constitution governs that every year three or four (alternately) of the seven elected board members are up for election, as well as any board appointed members. This year, we received four nominations for the available three nominated board positions. I am always encouraged when we receive more nominations than positions - it shows we have members who are willing and want to get involved. On the flip side, it also means one nomination is going to be unsuccessful. I’d like to acknowledge and thank Cheryl Woodhart, our outgoing director.

Cheryl has served on the board since 2010; she was our first and is now our longest serving female director. Thank you for your passion, hard work and commitment to our industry over these many years - I know you won’t stop here! Congratulations (in alphabetical order) to Andrew Esquilant, Ben Pieyre, Tom Smith who 18

were successfully re-elected. Tom Smith was also re-elected to Vice President and myself to President, both entering our fourth consecutive year in these positions. For myself I have felt truly honoured to be serving as CICA President over the past three years and I hope I can do the role justice in the year ahead. Making up the remainder of the board are continuing directors, entering the last year of their two-year term Bart Sutherland, Danny Black, Geoff Bevan and John Gillespie (past and longest serving President). I would like to thank all of our board for their commitment, passion and efforts towards our vision of A Safe and Profitable Crane Industry.

Every year as I look around the room at the conclusion of the AGM, I see some of the first-time attendees disillusioned faces saying: “It that it? It that what our association is all about?” Fortunately, that’s all the AGM is about but the real engagement and work happens at the many State Branch General and Executive meetings, Board and Subcommittee meetings.

These are the meeting you need to get involved in. Overarching collaboration from all these various groups occurs three times a year at our National Reference Group (NRG) meeting, one of which is held each year prior to the AGM. If you want to know the outcome of this, just log into the members only section on the CICA website under CICA members document and look at the NRG minutes.

But back to the conference. Once again, we had very high quality technical presentations, with plenty of choices on different workshops to attended this year. The Major Inspection workshop I attended first up on Saturday morning was almost standing room only, so clearly, we covered some important topics for our members. The manufacturers panel too is always well attended and this was consistent in 2017. For the third consecutive year we held the Crane Hirers Panel. Good to see some new faces (and some familiar) stepping up to participate - thank you Tyson Fraser, Luke Sharp, Joe Conti, Chris Kolodziej and Paul Churchill, well done guys!

Several years ago, CICA lobbied to have a Cert III in Construction Crane Operations recognised by NSW Smart and Skilled as a preferred pathway to introduce trainees into our industry. This has been a slow road. A year

ago we only had three trainees and now, we have 12. We are continuing to work with each state to provide co-funding for the traineeship as a supplement to the 23 courses required to complete the traineeship over a two-year period.

Where the traineeship and the HRWL still leave a gap is in documented competency for specific crane models, CICA is developing a standardised assessment program, CrewSafe, that could eventually become the resumé for a crane operator. Last year, we announced the CrewSafe program - it’s now live on the web - and CICA is rolling out roadshows around the country over the coming months to further support this implementation. This is a game changer to combat the quality and cost of VOCs; an excellent example of CICA taking authority of the crane industry, proactively leading us to A Safe and Profitable Crane Industry for our members. Thanks to those who have been involved in the beta testing to help develop this program. It was also great to see the advancement of our online portal with the simple and advanced lift planners demonstrated at one of the workshops; make sure you take advantage of these valuable tools in your business.

For me, a highlight of the conference was the closing keynote speaker, Matina Jewell (Retired Major, Australian Defence Force), who told an intense, tragic, and amazing story, who for the first time (to my knowledge) received a standing ovation - truly inspirational. For those that missed it, you’ll have to wait for the movie, yes Hollywood thought her life experience was that remarkable they would turn it into a movie.

How fortunate were we to have her as our closing address presenter, one I’ll remember for many years to come.

Held at the magnificent Adelaide Oval, the Gala dinner and Awards Ceremony was a fantastic closing event. Congratulations to all of this year’s winners. Photo of the Year - Max Crane & Equipment Hire. I would certainly like to encourage you to consider participating in next year’s Lift of the Year awards. Whilst the low numbers were disappointing, even more so the recipients proved to be truly worthy.

Winners were: Lift of the Year < 20t Load winner and also Lift of the Year > 20t Load winner, Gillespie Crane Services, and Innovation Award winner, Edwards Heavy Lift & RUD November/December 2017

CICA president Danny Black

CICA Board

Danny Black – President, Terex Cranes Tom Smith – Vice President, Williamstown Crane Hire Andrew Esquilant, Liebherr Australia John Gillespie, Gillespies Crane Services Bart Sutherland, Complete Crane Hire Geoff Bevan, Hydralift Cranes Ben Pieyre, Freo Group

CICA Office

Brandon Hitch, Chief Executive Officer 03 8320 0444 Tracey Watson, Business Operations Manager (VIC/TAS Secretary) 03 8320 0411 Simone Hill, CICA Administration Officer (Accounts/Membership/Events) 03 8320 0420 Heidi Biuwale, CICA Administration Officer (NSW, QLD & NT Secretary) 1300 887 277 John Humphries, VIC/TAS Liaison Officer 03 8320 0433 Patrick Cran, Plant & Operator Assessment Officer 0488 004 274 Sherry Kirby, CICA Administration Officer (Mon/Tues/Thurs) 03 8320 0455 Unit 10, 18-22 Lexia Place, Mulgrave Vic 3170 (PO Box 136 Mount Waverley Vic 3149) Phone: 03 9501 0078 Fax: 03 9501 0083 Email: admin@cica.com.au Website: www.cica.com.au For information regarding CICA membership, please visit our website or call the CICA office.

Chains. Also very rewarding to see Danny Adair recognised with an Excellence Award for his many contributions towards CICA’s traineeship program. He certainly spoke very passionately to encourage others to get on board - well done Danny.

The highlight of the Gala dinner was without doubt the wood carving auction, raising a massive $40,000 to a very worthy cause, Beyond Blue. What a superb result! Thank you to Borger Cranes for their very competitive and generous bidding and to Manitowoc Cranes for funding and introducing it to the conference terrific idea!

So overall, definitely a very successful conferencem thanks to the hard work of many people - wise connections, the CICA staff, Cheryl Woodhart as the conference committee chair, along with Rodger Weste, Stephen Holmes, Marcus Rigney, and Jeff Wilson, thank you and well done. Lastly a special thank you November/December 2017

to Paul Heeks for being our MC, it is a huge task to keep the conference on track over the three days and was fantastic to have someone from the industry back in the role again. Now we need to look ahead to the 2018 conference, being held in Melbourne from the 17th to the 19th of October - lock it into your dairy.

It was pleasure to catch up with so many of you during the conference. The feedback received is that business is generally improving, with certainly some pockets of strong growth, whilst hire rates continue to be challenging.

The good news is that CICA is very well placed to make positive change for our members, and I am confident we are working on the right initiatives towards our vision of A Safe and Profitable Crane Industry. We are very fortunate as an association to have eight staff members, well led by Brandon. We also have a dedicated board, passionate NRG and active state branches. To quote Brandon’s words: “It

is because of this dedication, we are punching above our weight as an industry association”.

As 2017 draws to an end, I would like to take this opportunity to sincerly thank all who contribute to making CICA a great success; our staff, our volunteers, the board, branch executives, technical committee, conference committee, all the other various working groups and of course to you, our members. CICA is YOUR association. Please don’t hesitate to drop me a line, I’d love to hear how we can better help you.

Lastly, may I wish you and your families a very Merry Christmas and a let’s pray 2018 is a safe and prosperous New Year for us all.

Many Thanks, Danny Black CICA President General Manager Terex Australia 0419 384 962 19

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UNVEILING THE

TOP 50

Welcome to the inaugural Cranes and Lifting list of Top 50 crane owning companies in Australia and New Zealand!

H

ere at Cranes and Lifting, one of our priorities is to champion and recognise the industry and it is hoped that this list does that as well as help inform the sector and identify trends.

Now, this is a work in progress of course, and we will continue to engage and work with you over the year in preparation for the next and future lists. Thus, we welcome your feedback and would love to hear from you. If you’d like to offer suggestions, ideas or even to just have a chat about your fleet, email top50@mayfam.net

We asked, you delivered In our inaugural listing, we reached out to companies in the ANZ region to find out more

about your fleet and operations. We asked you to provide information about: • your head office and depot locations; • number of employees; • maximum wheeled mobile and crawler crane lifting capacities; • type and maximum capacity of your largest crane; and • average fleet age in years.

To those who responded, thank you. At the same time, the team left no stone unturned, conducting research to plug the gaps where information was not supplied, calculating lifting capacities based on data available publicly.

As you can imagine, our very first list is extensive! And in the editions to come - the next

finlease November/December 2017

being the February/March issue - Cranes and Lifting will be in touch to find out more about your projects, operations, and you, the personalities of the sector. The full list - 236 companies all up - will be available shortly on Inside Construction (www.insideconstruction.com.au).

In this issue, we’re pleased to present to you the Top 50 crane owning companies in ANZ based on the total lifting capacity of wheeled mobile and crawler cranes. We’ve also put together other interesting findings, from the top 10 per state to the largest machines used in the region, and we’ve spoken to a few owners to find out what they love about the sector, what they and the industry should be proud of, and more.

We hope you find our coverage informative.

TM

21

TOP 50

And the Top 50 are...

No.

Company

Head office

No. of wheeled mobile cranes

No. of crawler cranes

Total maximum load capacity of wheeled mobile and crawler cranes (tonnes)

No.

Company

Head office

No. of wheeled mobile cranes

No. of crawler cranes

Total maximum load capacity of wheeled mobile and crawler cranes (tonnes)

1

ALE Heavylift (Australia)

QLD

84

30

39960

26

Gillespie Crane Services

NSW

24

1

2285

2

Freo Group

WA

228

30

26150

27

NZ

19

3

2271

3

Boom Logistics

VIC

282

11

21145

Pollock & Sons Crane Hire Ltd

4

Tutt Bryant Equiptment - Heavy Lift & Shift

QLD

70

62

20122

28

WGC Crane Group Pty Ltd

NSW

23

6

2270

5

Lampson Cranes

NSW

10

28

13108

29

Fleurieu Cranes

SA

24

2171

6

Universal Cranes

QLD

121

33

11978

30

WA

17

2117

7

Sarens Australia Pty Ltd

QLD

34

14

9597

Interstate Crane & Transport Hire Pty Ltd

31

NZ

18

2048

8

Mammoet Australia

WA

51

14

9540

New Zealand Crane Hire

9

LCR Group Pty Ltd

QLD

86

8

7888

32

Alfasi Equipment Hire

VIC

13

10

1782

10

Borger Crane Hire

NSW

65

5

7443

33

Sergi Australia Pty Ltd

VIC

13

2

1762.5

11

Smith Crane & Construction Ltd

NZ

48

16

5808

34

Preston Hire

NSW

8

89

1644.48

12

Leyburn Nominees Pty Ltd t/a Joyce Krane

WA

50

35

Action Cranes

NSW

25

36

NT

21

1

1482

13

John Holland

QLD

25

18

4719

AM Cranes & Rigging

14

Lee Crane Hire Pty Ltd

QLD

64

11

4463

37

Metrolift Cranes

QLD

16

1

1470

38

NZ

16

2

1418

15

Melrose Cranes & Rigging Pty Ltd

NSW

44

8

4296

Ian Roebuck Crane hire Ltd

39

Kwik Pty Ltd

WA

27

5100

1581

1412

16

Titan Cranes Limited (NZ)

NZ

51

3

4179

40

Everwilling Cranes Pty Ltd

NSW

12

17

Andrade Holdings t/a Bentley Crane Hire

WA

50

1

3746

41

Titan Heavy Lift Pty Ltd

WA

13

1405

18

McKay United t/a Williamstown Crane Hire

VIC

45

5

3602.6

42

McLeod Cranes Ltd

NZ

29

1392

43

G&T Construction

NZ

3

4

1357

19

Waikato / Auckland Crane Services Ltd

NZ

42

44

Walz Group Pty Ltd

QLD

7

5

1276

45

Fulton Hogan

NZ

5

15

1255

20

Max Cranes

SA

37

3129

46

19

1

1197

Metcalf Crane Services Pty Ltd

VIC

23

3014

Central Crane Services

NSW

21

47

22

1

1187

Crane Services Pty ltd

SA

48

1

2816.5

Boddington Crane Hire

WA

22

48

12

Hi Lift Cranes Ltd

NZ

15

1

2749

Culham Engineering Co Ltd

NZ

23 24

Capel Cranes

WA

22

2655

49

McIntosh cranes

NZ

13

1

1169

25

Sharp Carriers & Cranes Pty Ltd

SA

50

2380

50

Australian Machinery Hire

QLD

25

4

1166

22

2

3253

2

1410

1171

November/December 2017

TOP 50

Much to be proud of Crane owners in Australia have much to be proud of. Not only has the industry kept its eye firmly on innovation, it has worked hard, over the years, to improve safety, writes Jacqueline Ong. And this is one of the reasons why Cranes and Lifting has launched the Top 50 Crane Owning Companies - it is an industry worth celebrating.

We also spoke to a few operators to find out what makes them tick, why industry should pat itself on the back, and the changes that we can look forward to.

BORGER CRANE HIRE

BENTLEY CRANE HIRE

Depots: Glendenning, Sydney and Newcastle, New South Wales

“My main motto for all the people who work for us is to come to work safe, do our work safe, and go home safe. That’s our motto at all times - being safe during any part of any project.”

- William J Andrade, executive operations.

Staff count: 180 No. of wheeled mobile cranes: 65 Largest crane: Demag CC2800

IAN ROEBUCK CRANE HIRE

On what the company is most proud of...

Depots: New Plymouth, New Zealand Staff count: 25 No. of wheeled mobile cranes: 16 Largest crane: Grove GMK 5130-1 Average fleet age: seven years “Quality is never an accident …. …. It’s always the result of intelligent thinking!” - Ian Roebuck, director.

“We’re most proud of the fact that we’re a family business and we intend to continue our success through the third generation of our family - that’s our succession plan.

At the moment, I’m part of the second generation and the third generation has just started to come on board.”

- Shawn Borger, general manager.

Depots: Henderson and Welshpool, Western Australia Staff count: 25 No. of crawler cranes: 1 Largest crane: Liebherr LTM 1500 8-1

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November/December 2017

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23

TOP 50

TOP 50

But thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not all...

Cranes and Lifting would also like to acknowledge the companies that have made it to the top 100 and here are the crane owning firms that have placed between 51 and 100 in ANZ.

No. of wheeled mobile cranes

No. of crawler cranes

Total maximum load capacity of wheeled mobile and crawler cranes (tonnes)

1

1145

No. of wheeled mobile cranes

No. of crawler cranes

Total maximum load capacity of wheeled mobile and crawler cranes (tonnes)

NZ

14

14

668

Debner Cranes Pty Ltd

NSW

5

1

658

78

Action Cranes

NSW

10

656

79

Hydralift Cranes

VIC

11

649

80

Mann's Logan Crane hire

QLD

13

648

81

Two Way Cranes

NSW

11

1

629

82

Crossy's Crane Hire

QLD

12

1

615

83

Mid Coast Cranes Pty Ltd

NSW

13

84

Premier Cranes & Rigging

VIC

9

85

Townsville Cranes

QLD

14

86

Membreys Transport & Crane Hire

VIC

8

87

Big Lift Cranes & Heavy Haulage

NSW

8

578

88

Sunraysia Crane & Rigging

VIC

9

577

89

Queensland Crane Hire & Rigging Pty Ltd

QLD

8

575

90

Collie Crane Hire

WA

9

555

QLD

8

547

NZ

12

540 538

No.

Company

Head office

51

GBP Cranes

NSW

16

52

Independent Crane hire Pty Ltd

VIC

21

NQ Group Heavy Haulage & Cranes

QLD

54

Martin Cicerale Group (MCG Cranes) Pty Ltd

VIC

14

55

Wheeler Cranes & Services

NSW

17

1050

56

Cosa Group

NT

17

1010

57

Daniel Smith Industries Ltd

NZ

18

29

978

58

Lindores Construction Logistics

QLD

11

2

946.81

59

Hago Crane

WA

8

940

60

Sydney Cranes

NSW

11

926

61

RAR Cranes Pty Ltd

ACT

11

62

DJ Adair Crane Services

NSW

14

63

Project Dry Hire Pty Ltd

NSW

5

2

895

64

P&D Rigging and Crane Hire

VIC

14

2

885.8

65

Advanced Cranes & Rigging

Vic

14

885

66

Project Hire Pty Ltd

VIC

11

885

91

Ham's Crane Hire

67

WB Global

WA

16

849

92

Diack Bros Ltd

68

Halifax Crane Hire

WA

30

823

93

Wagga Mobile Cranes

NSW

10

69

Pfeiffer Cranes Pty Ltd

TAS

12

820

94

Botany Cranes

NSW

12

1

538

70

Surf City Cranes Pty Ltd

QLD

14

810

95

HEB Structure Ltd

NZ

7

16

537

96

Quicklift Crane Hire

VIC

17

2

517

71

Barkly Crane Hire

QLD

13

785

97

Smithy's Cranes Pty Ltd

QLD

5

510

72

M&B Rigging & Crane Hire Pty Ltd

QLD

11

765

98

Jacksons Cranes & Heavy Haulage Ltd

NZ

8

498

73

Quinlan Cranes

VIC

16

760

99

9

Skylift Crane Services Pty Ltd

VIC

11

Riverina Crane Services Pty Ltd

NSW

74

NSW

7

75

Century Cranes

QLD

16

53

24

No.

Company

76

Fletcher Construction Company Ltd

77

1125

8

1065 3

2

1063.3

925 908

1

1

3

719.5 696

100 Henry Plants and Equipment

Head office

600 1

599 593

3

1

November/December 2017

588.8

495 485

SANY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD Email: chen@sany-aus.com Tel: 0434 558 626 Address: 17 Glassford Rd, Kewdale, WA 6105.

TOP 50

GILLESPIE CRANES “The sector should be proud of movements in improving safety and quality of services through CICA. These improvements have come in leaps and bounds to deliver a stronger and safer, and hopefully in the future, a more profitable sector.”

- Reg Eggleton, heavy lift specialist.

Head office: Rozelle, New South Wales Staff count: 52 No. of crawler cranes: 1 Average fleet age: five years “For Gillespie, we’re proud of our well-maintained fleet and great people who tend to stay with us. We can’t do anything without good people or good machinery.”

TUTT BRYANT On what makes Tutt Bryant different: “The main difference is that our crane technicians are crane operators and dogmen - all of them are factory trained, meaning they’re original equipment manufacturer (OEM) trained. So, if a crane breaks down, the operator can get down there and fix it immediately whereas others rely on the OEM and have to call them and get them to come out. In the remote areas, it would take days to get technicians from the OEM out there. All our people are OEM trained - we do it differently.” - Malcolm Smith, national operations manager.

Head office: Ormeau, Queensland

Tonnage of largest crane: 1600t

Largest crane: Demag CC8800-1

Average fleet age: five years

What I enjoy most about working for Tutt Bryant is... “the company’s involvement in various types of projects. We do anything from general construction to the residential housing market through to relocations of factories. It’s not just general cranage, lump sum project work to dry hire. There is multi-skilled and multi-faceted variation. And at the end of project, seeing what you’ve achieved, the guys get ownership and are there from start to finish and can say they were involved in the entire project.”

BODDINGTON CRANE HIRE “At Boddington Crane Hire, we always offer a quality service no matter what. Our customers commend us on our quality and our professionalism.” - Tom Hunter, general manager.

Head office: Port Kennedy, Western Australia

Largest crane: Tadano rough terrain

Depots: Port Kennedy (Western Australia) and Berrimah (Northern Territory)

Tonnage of largest crane: 145t Average fleet age: eight years

Staff count: 22

TOP 50 SPONSOR PROFILE

NOBLES As Australia’s leading national lifting & rigging specialist, Nobles is proud to support the inaugural edition of the Cranes & Lifting Top 50 crane owning companies in Australia.

Nobles brings the world’s best lifting & rigging products and related services to create complete solutions for its customers heaviest, most demanding and complex lifting needs.

Two recent examples of this are Nobles’ newest distributorships with Bridon-Bekaert and ITI (USA).

Bridon-Bekaert Ropes Group is a global wire rope manufacturer producing both the Bridon and WRI range of ropes from its technically advanced global manufacturing facilities. From 27 November 2017, Nobles will be distributing their range of high-performance wire ropes to customers nationally.

ITI is the leading supplier of Virtual Reality crane training and assessment simulator systems globally, having recently won their category in the 2017 International VR Awards (London, UK) alongside the likes of Google & Ikea. Following their joint Australian launch at CICA 2017, Nobles is now ITI’s exclusive distributor for their VR crane simulator systems in Australia and New Zealand.

With these exciting new additions, Nobles distributes the broadest and best range of lifting & rigging brands in Australia. Together with their existing product range, technical services and in-house customer engineering capabilities, these will further support Nobles’ crane customers win more work and handle it with ease.

26

To learn more about these new market offers and how Nobles can help simplify and grow your crane business, go to www.nobles.com.au

November/December 2017

TOP 50 TOP 50 SPONSOR PROFILE

FINLEASE FINLEASE IS IN SO MANY WAYS… BETTER THAN A BANK. For the past 25 years, Finlease has been making life easier for small to medium sized businesses for equipment and vehicle finance in the crane sector and beyond.

finlease

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With the significant buying power which comes from funding $500mil p/a in Equipment and Vehicle finance through a dozen competitive underwriting banks and finance companies, Finlease has the experience, knowledge and skills to be an ideal finance partner to business owners.

In a world that’s gravitating to call centres, continually changing bank managers and little face to face contact, Finlease still does business the old fashioned way. We build lasting dedicated relationships with our clients.

Many clients have been with the Finlease family for 20 years as it just makes it easy for all parties when you have long term sustainable relationships. This means any engagement with a new client is done with this long term view in mind. We think you’ll find us a breath of fresh air compared to your present finance partners.

Whether your requirements are the occasional vehicle or equipment or significant ongoing fleet upgrades, Finlease can put in place a base of pre-approved facilities across a broad spread of underwriters to ensure funding is continually available and not too concentrated with just one or two lenders.

New or used, plant or equipment, cherry picker or reach stacker, dealer or private sale, Finlease can assist.

November/December 2017

If you are looking for timely, competitive, no nonsense finance supported with great service and long term relationships, talk to Jeff Wilson on 0412 207 259 or Richard Harper on 0411 243 475.

27

TOP 50

The ANZ scene NT 1. AM Cranes & Rigging 2. Cosa Group 3. Shorelands 4. Complete Crane Hire

WA 1. Freo Group 2. Mammoet Australia 3. Leyburn Nominees Pty Ltd t/a Joyce Krane 4. Andrade Holdings t/a Bentley Crane Hire 5. Capel Cranes 6. Interstate Crane & Transport Hire Pty Ltd 7. Kwik Pty Ltd 8. Titan Heavy Lift Pty Ltd 9. Boddington Crane Hire 10. Hago Crane

SA 1. Max Cranes 2. Crane Services 3. Sharp Carriers & Cranes 4. Fleurieu Cranes 5. Nick’s Crane Services 6. AGL & Son Crane Hire 7. Morgan’s Cranes 8. Macweld Crane Hire 9. James Contract Supplies 10. Load 28 Cranes

28

VIC 1. Boom Logistics 2. McKay United t/a Williamstown Crane Hire 3. Metcalf Crane Services 4. Alfasi Equipment Hire 5. Sergi Australia 6. Independent Crane Hire 7. Martin Cicerale Group (MCG Cranes) 8. P&D Rigging and Crane Hire 9. Advanced Cranes & Rigging 10. Project Hire

TAS 1.

Pfeiffer Cranes

November/December 2017

TOP 50 QLD 1. ALE Heavylift (Australia) 2. Tutt Bryant Equipment - Heavy Lift & Shift 3. Universal Cranes 4. Sarens Australia 5. LCR Group Pty Ltd 6. John Holland 7. Lee Crane Hire 8. Metrolift Cranes 9. Walz Group 10. Australian Machinery Hire

TOP 10 LARGEST CRANES IN ANZ 1. AL SK350 2. Lampson LTL-2600 Transi-Lift 3. Demag CC8800-1 4. Liebherr LR 11350 5. Manitowoc 750t Crawler 5. Liebherr LR 1750 5. Liebherr LTM 1750 6. Demag CC2800 7. Sany SCC 500E

5000t 8. Demag AC500-1 & 2 2600t 8. Liebherr LTM 1500 8-1 9. Grove GMK 7450 1600t 10. Manitowoc M16000 1350t 10. Liebherr LR1400 750t 10. Grove GMK6400 750t 10. Manitowoc 16000 750t 600t 508t

500t 500t 450t 400t 400t 400t 400t

NSW 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Lampson Cranes Borger Crane Hire Melrose Cranes & Rigging Pty Ltd Gillespie Crane Services WGC Crane Group Pty Ltd Preston Hire Action Cranes Everwilling Cranes Pty Ltd Central Crane Services GBP Cranes

ACT 1.

2.

TOP 10 WHEELED MOBILE CRANE OWNERS IN ANZ 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

ALE Heavylift (Australia) Freo Group Boom Logistics Universal Cranes Borger Crane Hire LCR Group

7. Leyburn Nominees t/a Joyce Krane 8. Mammoet Australia 9. Sarens Australia 10. Tutt Bryant Equipment - Heavy Lift & Shift

RAR Cranes Capital Cranes

TOP 10 CRAWLER CRANE OWNERS IN ANZ NEW ZEALAND 1. Smith Crane & Construction 2. Titan Cranes (NZ) 3. Waikato / Auckland Crane Services 4. Hi Lift Cranes 5. Pollock & Sons Crane Hire 6. New Zealand Crane Hire 7. Ian Roebuck Crane Hire 8. McLeod Cranes 9. G&T Construction 10. Fulton Hogan

1. Tutt Bryant Equipment - Heavy Lift & Shift 2. Lampson Cranes 3. ALE Heavylift (Australia) 4. Sarens Australia Pty Ltd 5. Universal Cranes 6. Mammoet Australia 7. John Holland 8. Freo Group 9. LCR Group Pty Ltd 10. Smith Crane & Construction Ltd

CL

November/December 2017

29

TOP 50

TOP 50 INDEPENDENT CRANE HIRE

WAIKATO/AUCKLAND CRANE SERVICES

On changes to expect in the near future: “For mobile cranes, that would be the ability to travel on public roads within the new guidelines for safety. This is a big factor for mobile cranes. In terms of technology, it’d be vario base counter weight systems that you see on the Liebherr cranes as they allow bigger cranes to fit in smaller spots.” - Mark Frigo, operations manager.

Head office: Hamilton, New Zealand No. of wheeled mobile cranes: 42 Largest crane: Demag AC 350 Average fleet age: nine years.

Staying innovative: “We will

remain innovate by meeting customers’ demand. Customer demands have changed and they are now more focused on health and safety.”

- Tony Gibson, managing director.

Head office: Somerton, Victoria No. of wheeled mobile cranes: 21 Largest crane: Liebherr LTM 1250-6.1 Tonnage of largest crane: 250t “The project I’m most proud of would be the Victorian desalination plant - it’s the most recent big project we worked on and 95% of our fleet and employees were down there for a large period of time.

The project was completed within budget.”

GBP CRANES Head office: Gunnedah, NSW No. of crawler cranes: 1 Average fleet age: six years “Lifting the north-west for over 40 years - GBP Cranes and its staff are continually striving to better performance and improve customer satisfaction.” - Beckie Taylor, human resources & accounts manager.

MELROSE CRANES & RIGGING No. of wheeled mobile cranes: 44 Largest crane: Grove GMK 750 Staff count: 121 Average fleet age: 6.5 years The best part of my day is spent... “Planning and implementing the continuous growth of Melrose Cranes & Rigging Pty Ltd.” - Gregg Melrose, managing director.

the biggest road registerable all-terrain crane on six axles was a Demag AC 615 (200 metric tonne capacity). Now, a Grove GMK 6400 (400 metric tonne capacity) rules the six-axle class. Amazing!”

On what he appreciates most about the sector: “Technology. For example, in 1989 on the East Coast of Australia,

TOP 50 SPONSOR PROFILE

SANY GLOBAL CORE COMPETITIVENESS R&D:

Investing 5–7% of annual sales revenue in R&D each year

Granted industry-topping 6,000 patents

Winner of National Science and Technology Progress Award

Winner of State Technological Innovation Award, the highest honour in China’s construction machinery sector Manufacturing:

SANY SPS manufacturing system

World largest excavators assembly-line production base

Forerunner of big data and intelligent manufacturing

Winner of Global Performance Excellent Award

Service:

First-class, 24-hour customer service.

ECC Global Control Centre monitors SANY’s machines in real time

Our warehouses across the globe store over 80,000 types of spare parts

Devoted to providing tailor-made solutions to improve on-site productivity

SANY: Crawler cranes from 50t to 650t • Rough terrain cranes from 25t to 120t

30

SANY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD Email: chen@sany-aus.com Tel: 0434 558 626 Address: 17 Glassford Rd, Kewdale, WA 6105

November/December 2017

ANNIVERSARY

30 candles in the wind Paul Heeks has been around cranes for most of his life. Early in his career, he worked as marketing manager at tower crane icon Favco. At that time, Favco dabbled in mobile cranes without great success and tower cranes were a feast or famine proposition. Marine cranes were a core line, and sold around the world as well as onto oil platforms in Bass Strait, writes Greg Keane.

F

rom Favco, Paul moved on to a managerial role at Tutt Bryant. At that time, the various companies of the Tutt Bryant group handled franchises as diverse as Deutz diesels, Grove cranes, Euclid dump trucks and Mustang skid steers. It was in an era of structural upheaval, and Paul decided to start his own business, PA Construction Equipment (now PACE Cranes).

The PA stood for Paul Anthony – Paul’s Christian names, with the latter also being the name of his son who now oversees the business.

Paul credits the late Tod Kennedy, the acknowledged crane writer of that era (at Thompson publication Construction Australia) with critical input in the design of the PACE logo.

The initial PACE focus was on parts and used cranes, specialising in crawler and rough terrain cranes. The business operated from a yard at Mortdale for a short time, before moving to its current location at Peakhurst. New premises are now being built at this location for the start of the 40th decade in business.

The world was a little different in 1987: the internet hadn’t made the world accessible to someone chasing a used crane, so Paul’s connections and his commitment to ensuring that cranes met Australian Standards before being delivered stood the business in good stead, along with the relationships built up over the years of working for others.

Paul Flood was the first mechanic, followed closely by Anthony Heeks, who joined as soon as his father felt that there would be continuity of work for him. Patrick Mardaymootoo joined a year later. Paul Thomas looked after spare parts. Fay Heeks (Paul’s wife) went back to work when PACE started, to help with paying the bills; but she joined the business a year later to look after the books. Current commercial manager Shirley Herbert joined in 1989, when the business was still in Mortdale.

The first sale was spare parts to Ron Knight of Knights Cranes in Ulladulla, on the NSW south coast, while the first crane sale was a used Austin Western 410 Senior rough terrain crane that went to a small engineering shop in Port Kembla.

Maeda was the first new equipment franchise, commencing in 1991. Paul approached Maeda

32

about representing its cranes but, as things were tight at the time, he had to ask Maeda to cover half of the flight cost to Japan.

Maeda wasn’t an overnight success: the first “demonstration” was to Bob Smith of Brambles, who was dismantling air ducting at the Australian Glass Works with the Maeda in a fraction of the time that would have been taken using a block and tackle. Bob didn’t want to own the crane as he didn’t know where the next job would come from, so Paul decided that hire was the way to get the crane accepted.

Things didn’t really take off until 1993/94, and Maeda sales have been a core activity of the business since then.

Over the years, a lot of mobile crane brands have been sold through PACE: amongst them Lorain, Luna, NCK Rapier and Skat. In addition, there were Perry tractor cranes and trenchers, Emu man and material hoists, Jaso tower cranes and Robway load management systems.

Robway was a major supplier to, and supporter of PACE in the early years. Paul said: “I could not overstate how much we appreciate Bob Way’s assistance in the early years.”

“We have had wonderful support from many customers including Eglo, and Brambles for service work. In the early days, we supplied many used rough terrain cranes to John Farrier of FS Cranes for work at the Shell Refinery, and more recently Preston Hire and WGC have been great supporters.

“Maeda has provided wonderful support for over 25 years, and more recently Sennebogen has become a fantastic partner.”

PACE also represents Valla and Shuttlelift, but these service niche markets whereas the Maeda and Sennebogen products service markets that were emerging at the time that PACE took them on, but have continued to grow in size and product range.

The range of brands represented over the years was a result of a willingness to back something that was a bit different to standard market offerings but appeared to have application in Australia once the market understood it. It was also an attempt to avoid competing head-on with the multi-national majors.

The timing of Anthony taking over the management was not planned, and was

precipitated by health problems experienced by the older Heeks. As succession had been planned, the transition was largely seamless.

With a core of strong brands, Anthony has focused on ensuring that product support meets or exceeds the expectations of customers, and that the PACE structure reflects this.

A family feel has permeated the business, and this goes beyond the core of the Heeks family, which now includes Anthony’s sister and brother-in-law. Having started in the business at a young age, Anthony had mentors in the parts and service areas, as well as his parents in the sales and business areas. There is little staff turnover, and those who have left still feel welcome to stop in for a visit (and do).

This family feel extends to the relationships with CL many customers.

WGC: PACE STANDS BY ITS CUSTOMERS WGC Cranes dry hire manager Rob McInnes has a relationship with PACE Cranes that goes back virtually to the time that PACE took on the Sennebogen franchise.

Rob admitted to having some concerns when investing in an unknown brand and type of crane, as well as dealing with a supplier with which there was no previous relationship.

With 16 Sennebogen cranes in its fleet, WGC has clearly overcome those early nerves and Rob said: “The product is good, but so is the service and support. On the very few occasions where there have been issues, PACE has proven that it stands by its product, and its customers.

“We are happy to have established a dry hire market for telescopic crawler cranes, and the recent additions to the Sennebogen range are giving us a reason to fine tune our product mix to match the needs of our customers.”

November/December 2017

PRESTON: A STRONG RELATIONSHIP PRESTON Hire Group GM David Serg sees parallels between PACE Cranes and Preston Hire.

“The relationship between our businesses is that both are familybased, having moved through generations, are based on integrity and have been early adopters of new equipment ideas and prepared to educate the market,” he said.

“The businesses have grown and evolved and, following the transition in PACE Cranes from Paul to Anthony Heeks, the relationship between us has remained strong.”

David believes that a good supplier must have not only a good product but also good support and service. Evidence of its faith in PACE is shown

by Preston Hire having the largest fleet of both Maeda and Sennebogen cranes in Australia (it also has the fifth largest Maeda fleet in the world).

From crane hire not being part of its business a generation ago, Preston Hire has grown to have more than 100 cranes in its fleet, and David said: “Without our relationship with PACE, I doubt that we would have grown to this size.”

Preston Hire is often the first in Australia with a new model of Maeda or Sennebogen crane, and through PACE it has developed relationships with the manufacturers. At a ceremony in Japan, one such “first of” model was handed over in a black livery that is used to draw attention to the Black Dog Institute - an organisation promoting mental health in the workplace and one of several charities close to Preston Hire’s heart.

Preston Hire was named HRIA Rental Company of the Year in the 2017 Hire & Rental Industry Association Excellence Awards - something David admitted was something of a pleasant surprise given the intention in entering was for Preston Hire to benchmark itself against other leading companies in the industry.

November/December 2017

33

ANNIVERSARY

65 and going strong Celebrating its 65th anniversary in October, crane manufacturer Sennebogen unveiled five new cranes at its head office in Straubing, southern Germany. Closer to home, managing director, head of sales Asia Pacific, Marco Burgmer told Cranes and Lifting the company’s commitment to the region remains strong. Jacqueline Ong reports.

On Sennebogen’s 65th anniversary, the company celebrated the inauguration of a new production space in Straubing, a 35,000m2 plant expansion.

(Source: Sennebogen)

One of the five new cranes launched this year - the 40t 643 telescopic crane. (Source: Sennebogen)

Sennebogen says it is committed to the Asia Pacific region. At bauma 2013, managing director, head of sales Asia Pacific, Marco Burgmer (third from left) and the team expanded its dealer network in Asia, appointing PT Gaya Makmur Tractors as a new distributor for Indonesia. (Source: Sennebogen)

S

ennebogen commenced operations in 1952, when a young Erich Sennebogen, at only 21 years of age, founded a company that made agricultural machinery in Pilling, near Straubing. 60 years later and the company has grown into a full-service provider of crane technology and material handling; an international firm that develops and produces a complete range of duty cycle cranes, crawler cranes, telescopic and harbour cranes, material handlers, telehandlers as well as base carriers. Today, Sennebogen employs 1400 people globally and has a service network of 150 dealers, including Pace Cranes in Australia, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.

Burgmer, who is based in the Singapore office that was set up in 2009, said Sennebogen’s success is largely due to its focus on developing products to suit its customers’ needs.

“We do not have a mass market approach.

We are differentiated by our customer-specific solutions,” he said.

And this year, Sennebogen pulled out all the stops for its customers, unveiling 10 new products of which five were cranes - two telescopic cranes (the 613E and 633E), a 1100E crawler, 670E duty-cycle crawler, and the 40t 643E all-terrain.

The first machines are on its way to Australia 34

and will be showcased at Pace Cranes’ grand opening of its new premises in Peakhurst, NSW on December 7, which will also be a time of celebration as Pace Cranes marks three decades of operations (more on page 28).

Burgmer noted that the Sennebogen-Pace Cranes partnership began in 2010-11 and said it’s been a successful one to date, going the distance to develop and offer a selection of Sennebogen cranes, including crawler and telescopic cranes, to the Australian market.

“In combination with Pace Cranes’ Maeda products, it has been a great fit [for Sennebogen] from the beginning,” Burgmer said.

“Pace Cranes was already developing the market for telescopic and crawler cranes and have set the benchmark for these cranes. So, in terms of sales and service delivery, Pace Cranes is among the best distributors of our network worldwide.”

The road ahead Burgmer was candid about the current climate in Asia Pacific, saying it hasn’t been an easy run for Sennebogen, particularly over the last five years.

He said currency changes have led to challenges faced by the company as these changes have altered the competitive landscape in the region.

“For instance, the Japanese manufacturers

are operating using a very weak Japanese Yen compared to the Euro and that has created a price difference of up to 30-40%... just because of the currency,” Burgmer said.

“Within the last five years, our machines, which are manufactured in Europe in Euro terms, compared to Japanese machines manufactured in Japan in Yen terms, are 30-40% more expensive.

If the Japanese machines are the benchmark in terms of price, and with price pressures in Asia and delivery, it’s been very difficult for us to match it.”

But Erich Sennebogen’s motto in 1952 “there’s no such thing as can’t” - lives on today.

“We continue to do our best with on-demand customisation and price may be a major challenge, but we will still differentiate from our competitors,” Burgmer said.

“We continue to move ahead with our customer-specific solutions in each niche segment, whether its cranes or recycling [machines]. We continue to focus on customised solutions, energy-efficient solutions, and customer-specific solutions. We won’t be able to get the whole market but in niche segments, we’re number one or number two and that’s our way.

“Sennebogen is committed and will remain committed to the Asia Pacific region. This is CL absolutely our focus region.”

November/December 2017

CRANES IN ACTION: NSW

Complex ferry terminal lifts win national lift award Gillespie Crane Services (Gillespies) undertook eight major lifts for McConnell Dowell, as part of its Barangaroo Ferry Hub Wharves Fitout Package undertaken for Transport for New South Wales. This program won the Lift of the Year Award in the >20 tonne category at the CICA National Crane Conference in Adelaide. The lifts were completed in April 2017. Greg Keane reports.

M

cConnell Dowell involved Gillespies early in the planning for this complex lift sequence, with the lack of crane access from land to the work area meaning that lifts either had to be undertaken from a barge, or a crane transfer from a barge to land was required. The complex shape of the transition and pontoon roof structures provided further challenges.

The eight lifts comprised: • 4 x 120t arrestor tubs [21m lift rad, 15m ballast].

• 2 x 47t transition roofs [28m pick up, 23m place, 9m ballast].

• 2 x 135t pontoon roofs.

All lifts were undertaken by Gillespies’ 350t capacity Liebherr LR1350 lattice boom crawler crane fitted with 56m of S2 Boom and 125t of upper counterweight, 38t of track frame counterweight and a 27m derrick mast suspending 200t of counterweight on a ballast tray.

The arrestor tub and transition roof lifts were undertaken from a barge, after which the crane relocated to land for the pontoon roof lifts.

ASO Marine Consultants carried out all barge stability calculations and reports.

For the arrestor tubs, a 10.3m LB 260 spreader bar was slung from the crane hook by a combination

of round slings, shackles and equalising triangles.

Slings and shackles connected the spreader bar to the lifting lugs on the tub. Lifting was undertaken at a 21m radius, with the suspended counterweight at a 15m radius.

For the transition roofs, a 10.2m LB 150 spreader was used, and equalising triangles were not required for the connection from the crane hook to the spreader bar. Pick up and placement radii varied for these lifts, but the suspended ballast remaining at a 9m radius.

The most complex lifts were the pontoon roofs, and not only because of their weight (the crane was operating at 93% of capacity for much of this lift) and sail area (150m2).

Their asymmetric shape added complexity to the rigging, compounded by the four pillars on which the roof was to be supported all being at different heights.

The need to keep the load on the Whites Bay wharf below 400 Kn/m2 also required a complex sequence of altering the radius of the boom and suspended counterweight tray. This sequence involved: 1. Taking up 120t at a 20m radius, with the ballast tray at a 9m radius.

2. Extending the tray to 10m and taking up 145t at 20m.

Placing a transition roof from barge.

November/December 2017

3. Extending the tray to 11m and taking up 155t.

4. Extending the tray to 12m and taking up the full load of 159.6t.

5. Extending the tray to 13m and booming down to a 21m radius.

6. Extending the tray to 14m and booming down to a 22m radius.

7. Extending the tray to 15m, booming down to 22.5m radius and slewing into the placement position 8. Booming down to a 24m radius and placing the roof on the pontoon.

With the roof lifting lugs in the shape of a rhomboid, torsional load in the rigging needed to be relieved and this was achieved by designing and fabricating equalising triangles with five shackle slots in the base.

The equalising triangles were at either end of a 27m spreader that was suspended from the crane hook by round slings and shackles.

Wire rope and centre snatch blocks were used to suspend 160t hook blocks from the triangles. Each hook supported an 16m spreader via round slings and shackles, with round slings used to connect the roof lift points CL to the spreaders.

The pontoon roof erection required complex rigging.

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CRANES IN ACTION: NSW Westbound Bells Creek bridge - picking precast plants from transport.

Efficient program of lifts at Schofields Road Stage 3 BOOM Logistics/Aitkin Crane Services Pty Ltd carried out a program of plank lifts for the two bridges that form part of the Schofields Road Stage 3 project being carried out by BMD Constructions (BMD) for Roads and Maritime Services as part of a road infrastructure upgrade to meet the needs of new residents and businesses in the North West Growth Centre of Western Sydney. Greg Keane reports.

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November/December 2017

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here are two major water crossings as part of the project - Bells Creek and Eastern Creek. The former is on South Street - an existing street that is being upgraded (and will change name to Schofields Road); while the latter is on a greenfield extension of the existing Schofields Road. Each crossing has twin bridges, as the new road is a divided carriageway with two lanes in each direction, and a wide median strip that allows an upgrade to three lanes in each direction in the future. A 3.5m shared path is also a feature of both the new roadway and the new bridges.

Each bridge uses a standard Roads and Maritime design with 17.6m spans and 14 precast planks per span, with each outer plank weighing 18.7t (inner planks weigh 15.7t with void formers). The Bells Creek bridges have 10 spans, while the Eastern Creek bridges have 24 spans.

There is nothing particularly challenging in the lifts themselves, but the challenge with carrying out a lift program like this is to streamline each lift sequence as much as possible, and then replicate it until the program is completed.

This is the real success of the Schofields Road lift program, with a common general approach taken at both bridges and the main differences relating to the ability to use existing roadway on the brownfields Bells Creek bridges. The greenfields nature of the Eastern Creek site also meant that work could be undertaken on both bridges simultaneously, whereas staging was required at Bells Creek to allow traffic to access the existing road while the new eastbound road and bridge was constructed, before switching traffic to the new road to allow rebuilding of the existing road and building of the new bridge. Bells Creek eastbound also required some lifts to be performed at night under local road closure as the existing roadway was used by the crane and plank delivery trucks.

To minimise deliveries during the night, an additional four planks were temporarily landed on the outside of the headstocks (future third lane). This allowed 90 planks to be delivered during the day (70 permanently installed, 20 temporary) and left only 50 to be delivered at night. Bells Creek westbound is to be landed on dayshift, with traffic relocated to the completed new eastbound Bridge.

A 250t capacity Liebherr LTM 1250-6.1 All Terrain (AT) crane was the main lift crane for the Bells Creek bridges. Rigging comprised chains from the hook block to the 10.06m width spreader bar, with round slings from the spreader bar to the lift clutches that engaged with the bridge planks. With the weight of the rigging and allowance for crane rope, the hook block and wind loading, the weight allowed for in the lift plan was 21.36t.

November/December 2017

Placing the plank in position after slewing.

The crane lifted planks from transport and placed them on headstocks at 18.5m radius.

It was rigged with 47.5t of counterweight (maximum = 97.5t) and worked with 41.5m of main boom (maximum of 72m), so it was working comfortably within its capabilities (the maximum capacity in this configuration, using a 75% lift chart, is 27t). The use of a large crane working with partial counterweight configuration (compared to a smaller crane needing more counterweight to undertake the same lift) has benefits in reducing the number of support vehicles required to mobilise to site.

The lift sequence had a crane pad built between the headstocks of every third span.

The LTM 1250 set up on the pad, with steel mats used under the outriggers. From this position,

the crane erected all planks for the spans on either side of the lift pad, with the planks picked from a truck on the existing road. A single lane closure and temporary portable traffic lights were required to support this part of the lift sequence, with the crane moving to the next pad after each sequence was completed.

This left infill spans requiring planks to be installed; and for these the crane operated from the roadway under a full road closure.

The sequence for the Eastern Creek bridges differed in that a 150t lattice boom crawler crane was used and there was no existing roadway, so transport backed down a site road between the bridges to deliver planks to the crane. All lifting was carried out from ground level, but the same general approach was used.

CL 37

TRAINING

Cross-skills training Constructionarium is a UK concept for giving practical construction exposure to late year engineering students and recent graduates through teaming to build a scaled down version of a notable infrastructure project over a five-day period, writes Greg Keane.

I

module being the last to be placed. t was brought to Australia in 2016, and WH&S More Skills director Giles Markey the 2017 project was a 1:20 version said: “Constructionarium was an ideal of Brisbane’s Story Bridge, built at the oppor tunity for WH&S More Skills to work Construction Training Centre (CTC) in alongside leading industry par ticipants, Salisbury (Brisbane). including Downer - all with a common In 2016, sponsors from the contractor, consultant, and project owner sectors sponsored the project financially and A 14t Franna assembling the second module for the Constructionarium Story Bridge project. provided recent graduates to participate in the exercise. In 2017, these were joined by engineering students from the University of Queensland, and both public and private sector project owners were represented.

There were also “in-kind” sponsors that included CTC, which provided the venue and a longer-term Brisbane home for Constructionarium; and training organisation WH&S More Skills, which is the largest tenant at CTC and whose training includes all forms of High Risk Work Licencing for cranes (3t to over 100t), as well as dogging, rigging, elevating work platforms, forklifts, scaffolding, working at heights and confined space entry.

WH&S More Skills recently acquired the training operations of Lifting Skills to expand its footprint at CTC. It now occupies an area of 12,000m2 and A 25t Tadano RT crane lifting the final module of houses 10 cranes used for training (a the bridge. tower crane, a gantry crane and eight mobile cranes).

For the Constructionarium project, it provided earthmoving equipment such as skid steer loaders and excavators for constructing the bridge foundations; with two concrete piers and two abutments used to support the steel bridge structure.

In addition, WH&S More Skills supplied a 14t Franna and 25t Tadano rough terrain crane for the erection, as well as operator, lift supervisor and trainer Joel Horton.

Contractor sponsor Downer provided a dogman to assist with all lifts.

The Franna was used to assemble the three modules that made up the bridge, with each weighing around 1.8t (decking was added once the structure was in place). The Tadano crane picked up the modules and slewed them into position, with the centre 38

goal of educating the next generation of engineers.

“The project gave the students an appreciation of the construction activities and methodologies that flow directly from a set of engineering drawings.”

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November/December 2017

CICA CONFERENCE Thursday night networking dinner inside the National Wine Centre (where else, in Adelaide?).

Adelaide does the crane industry proud With 400 attendees, the CICA national crane conference held at the Adelaide Convention Centre could only be regarded as a success. Paul Heeks revisited his past role as MC to guide proceedings, writes Greg Keane.

B

ookend keynote speakers Glenn Cooper AM and Matina Jewell were both well received, and for vastly different reasons. Glenn is a fifth-generation member of the Cooper brewing dynasty, and credited with rejuvenating the business.

Matina Jewell has come through some challenging experiences in the defence forces to spread a believable message about leadership and resilience that can be applied to any area of endeavour.

A series of workshops provided an interactive environment for crane operators across a range of practical topics. Of particular interest was Patrick Cran’s session on CICA’s CrewSafe VOC (Verification of Competency) initiative.

Attendees put forward several suggestions

that CICA is taking in board to refine CrewSafe, elements of which are: • Peer assessment.

• Machine specificity.

• Verification by means such as video.

Separately, CICA CEO Brandon Hitch outlined changes to the major inspections regime, moving away from the focus on 10-year and 25-year inspections to one based on condition monitoring. Extensive liaison was undertaken with manufacturers to gain support for this change. It is worth noting that the age-related criteria of the past do not directly align with many manufacturer recommendations. The changes do not, however, relax requirements for owners to keep complete, accurate records of a crane’s history.

As usual, the Manufacturers Panel was

popular, with John Gillespie again posing the questions. The panel comprised: • Reinhold Breitenmoser, regional sales director, Liebherr Werk Ehingen GmbH. • Steve Filipov, president, Terex Cranes.

• Andreas Cremer, global product director, Manitowoc.

• Rolf Sonntag, director, Tadano Faun GmbH. • Bill Stramer, vice president, marketing sales and customer support, Link-Belt Construction Equipment Co. • Ryusuke Yanagido, marketing manager, Kobelco Cranes.

As it is impossible to do justice to the content of this conference in a short summary, some of this will be revisited in detail in future issues of Cranes and Lifting.

LIFTING AWARDS

OTHER AWARDS

1. <20 Tonne

1. Innovation Award

Winner (and People’s Choice): Gillespie Crane Services for its work undertaken for Delta Demolitions on the IMAX Theatre at Darling Harbour.

Runner up: Load 28 Crane Hire

Winner: Edwards Heavylift and RUD Chains Runner Up (and People’s Choice): Load 28 Crane Hire

2. >20 Tonne Winner: Gillespie Crane Services for its work undertaken on the Barangaroo Ferry Hub Wharves Fitout Package for contractor McConnell Dowell, with the client being Transport for New South Wales.

November/December 2017

2. Excellence Award Winner: Danny Adair 3. Photo of the Year Winner: Max Crane & Equipment Hire 4. Best Exhibitor Booth Winner: RUD Chains

39

CICA CONFERENCE

Crane owners panel.

Platinum sponsor Industrial Training International attracted a lot of attention with its virtual reality training console that will be represented in Australasia by Nobles.

CrewSafe operator competency workshop.

The Manitowoc-sponsored chainsaw massacre of a piece of timber that produced a Grove model that raised $40,000 at auction with Borger Crane Hire & Rigging Service placing the winning bid. A silent auction at the networking dinner raised a further $8000, with all proceeds going to Beyond Blue.

John Gillespie directing the Manufacturersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Panel.

CICA CEO Brandon Hitch outlines changes to the major inspection regime.

Lively entertainment at the Gala Dinner to conclude the conference.

Cranes and Lifting editor Greg Keane presenting the Lift of the Year <20t trophy to Reg Eggleton of Gillespie Crane Services.

Images courtesy of CICA, credit: Rix Ryan Photography.

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November/December 2017

CICA CONFERENCE

The great outdoors The 2017 CICA conference wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t limited to the four walls of the Adelaide Convention Centre. Outside, exhibitors showed off their wares, to the pleasure of delegates who were there.

Cranes on parade.

It pays to advertise big.

For when you want to do a dual lift with one truck.

Tele boom crawlers great and small.

Brothers in arms - TIDD and Grove.

Pre-production 40t Franna.

Maedas saluting the Adelaide sun.

The smiling face of Tadano.

Cranes Combinedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Grove GMK5150L.

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November/December 2017

41

SAFETY SYSTEMS

The tools to keep you safe From lightning protection to tyre management, Greg Keane reports on the safety systems available in the market.

TRT fabricated outrigger pads TRT displayed its fabricated outrigger pads at the recent CICA crane conference in both the outdoor and indoor displays (the latter having a cutaway version so that visitors could see the weld quality of the honeycomb internal structure that provides stiffness and strength without a weight penalty). High tensile SSAB steel (the equivalent of Bis 80) is used.

TRT welders are qualified to AS/NZS2980:2007, and the pads are rotated during fabrication to ensure that all welds are down hand for consistent size and quality.

The engineering data behind the pads can be used as part of an engineered lift plan: something not normally available on custom fabricated solutions.

TRT engineers design the pads using 3D Solidworks CAD software, and they are run through Beam Strength Analysis to ensure that all configurations meet usage

requirements. Design criteria include stackability and ease of handling - the latter provided by lift-rated lugs or fork pockets (or both). The non-slip surface enhances onsite safety when the pads are in place, while the angled, rounded side walls of the outrigger pad provide protection from tyre damage to equipment manoeuvring around the crane.

TRT outrigger pads are rated for a given weight placed over the centre of the pad, combined with a span that covers, for example, placement over a culvert or site excavation. The span calculation for the given load is based on the pad bridging a metre.

While only recently introduced to Australia, TRT pads have been built in New Zealand for eight years, and used on cranes from 100t to 400t capacity. They are sold in sets of four,

Ground control to Major Broons UNKNOWN ground conditions (e.g. uncontrolled fill) can be an issue when setting up large cranes, and often removing and replacing material is not an economic option. Adelaide-based company Broons Hire makes square impact rollers that are widely used in ground improvement in Australia and around the world, and are available for hire around Australia. These provide a fast means of compacting large ground areas to a depth of up to 2m, and have been used in the mining industry for dragline pads.

Broons director Stuart Bowes told Cranes and Lifting: “Our Impact Roller works at around 10kph so, with 20 passes, we are able to cover around 1000m2 per hour. Often, we are in and out in a couple of days or less, which is far quicker than alternative solutions. Identifying soft spots in underlying ground is one of the most popular applications for our Impact Rollers.

“We’ve recently completed a project at the port in Cairns where they needed

42

Honeycomb construction provides stiffness for the TRT outrigger pads.

and there are currently seven standard sizes, with areas ranging from 3.1m2 to 6.1m2, and weights ranging from 480kg to 1480kg per pad.

The Broons BH-1300 Impact Roller preparing a crane pad on a waste dump in WA.

to set up heavy lift cranes on reclaimed land for unloading and loading wind tower components coming in from overseas.

“Given that crane pads are often temporary, complete removal and replacement of the material or in situ

stabilisation can be cost-prohibitive.

Our Impact Roller is an ideal proof roller, improving the density where conditions allow or, at the very least, identifying soft spots that may further require treatment to eliminate the risk of differential settlement.”

November/December 2017

Removing the blind spot THE sheer size of equipment relative to the operator means that there are often blind spots - often exacerbated by the position of the operator controls.

This is something that CICA conference exhibitor APS Lighting & Safety addresses through its representation of US manufacturer Preco Electronics and its range of PreView-branded radar detection systems that can be tailored for detection range and width.

Not specifically designed for use with cranes, the systems have application anywhere that people work close to equipment something common in the crane industry.

PreView offers a range of systems for monitoring blind spots, and these are available from APS Lighting & Safety.

When lightning strikes...

Removing a safety flat spot WHEN the only thing connecting a load to the ground on a crane is the tyres, it makes sense to ensure LSM Technologies advocates tyre pressure that the tyres are monitoring systems for pick and carry cranes. not compromised.

Tyre monitoring systems (of both pressure and temperature) are one way of doing that, and Brisbane-based LSM Technologies recommends fitting them to pick and carry cranes.

It represents Doran tyre monitoring systems in Australia, and has fitted them to a wide range of mobile equipment - either as a standalone system or integrated into its SAFETRACS In-Vehicle Monitoring Telemetry System (IVMS) with live web-based reporting and alerts.

The benefits go well beyond safety when lifting and carrying: pressure issues affect stability on the road and tyre life; and can cause tyre fires.

The monitoring system can be used in conjunction with LSM’s Ride-On Tyre Protection System that uses a sealant in the tyre to seal most punctures as well as assist with tyre balance and reduced operating temperatures.

A protected tower crane.

Just like the real thing The ITI virtual reality crane simulators are a great leap forward in training.

TURKISH company MTO Engineering Ltd. Co. is a specialist in the lightning protection market, and tailors its EvoDis system to protect metal structures such as telecommunication and broadcast towers, tower cranes, power transmission towers, wind turbines, etc. against lightning strikes.

2017 marks the 10th anniversary of the system, with nearly 1000 towers of various types protected and a claimed 100% success rate.

The EvoDis Lightning Prevention System is based on the Charge Dissipation Principle, and emits charges through hundreds of sharp points instead of using a simple rod with a single sharp point such as a lightning arrester. This method stops or (in some cases) delays the formation of upward streamers between the protected structure and the charged cloud from which lightning emanates, dissipating the concentration of the charges on the structure and effectively making it invisible to lightning strikes.

ONE of the real attention getters at the recent CICA conference was the crane training VR simulator, for which A. Noble & Son Ltd. (Nobles) has recently become the Australasian distributor.

The simulator is designed to complement rather than replace traditional instruction and competency assessment programs, and is crane-specific in its design, enhancing its realism - something that was noted by those who spent time in the seat.

The range of cranes for which simulation is available is expanding rapidly, and some of the largest crane users in the world are now using the simulator, which was only released at Conexpo in 2017 and won the Best Use of VR in Education and Training category at the 2017 VR Awards in London in October.

The simplest but hardest thing...

ARGUABLY the hardest word to say in the English language has only two letters. Yes, the answer to this riddle is “no”.

With financial pressures on business, as well as the ego-driven desire to show that you can do something that others can’t or won’t, it’s tempting to say “yes” to a job that has unknown factors involving an element of risk. The “bloopers” posts on the internet are filled with examples of people (and businesses) who said “yes” when the answer should have been “no”, or at least “not until we can check it out properly”.

Saying “no” has no up-front capital cost and doesn’t require ongoing maintenance - only courage.

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November/December 2017

43

ATTACHMENTS AND ACCESSORIES

Inside rigging Rigging and lifting attachments featured heavily in entries for innovation and lift awards at the recent CICA national crane conference in Adelaide, and these will be covered elsewhere in this issue, and in the following few issues of Cranes and Lifting, writes Greg Keane.

I

RUD Chains won the award for Best Exhibitor Booth - no doubt, for more than just the striking colour combinations.

n addition, indoor exhibitors showed the latest in lifting equipment. It seems that for 2017, lifting equipment must be finished in colours that would stand out even in a poorly lit night club.

Higher capacity RUD VLBG-PLUS load rings THE latest upgrade in the RUD range is the VLBG-PLUS bolted load ring, which comes in a range of threads from M8 to M30, and promises up to 45% greater Working Load Limit (WLL) than the VLBG range that it replaces.

The load ring is made from Grade 120 steel for greater wear resistance, and features 360° rotation of the lifting point rotation and 180° pivot of the suspension ring. A clamping spring holds the suspension ring in the selected position, and reduces noise from ring movement. The replaceable ICE-Bolt is made from patented steel with special corrosion protection.

Use of high performance polyester and a compact protective cover makes the Magnum Force slings up to 50% slimmer than comparable round slings of the same capacity.

Next generation SpanSet synthetic slings MAGNUM Force is SpanSet Australia’s latest development in high performance round slings. The high-performance polyester outer cover provides greater tear and abrasion resistance than a conventional polyester protective sleeve. Wear is further reduced as the design reduces bunching at the attachment point.

The strength of the material used in the slings means that they can weigh up to 50% less than conventional round slings of the same capacity.

A feature of the slings is that the load capacity is raised and woven into the sling, so that it can be clearly identified even when dirty or seen from a distance.

44

November/December 2017

A service, not a product

Keith Bishop demonstrating the prototype pewag in-line chain shortener on the Nobles stand at the recent CICA national crane conference.

PWB Anchor promoted its Slingmate custom chain sling quote and order system at its stand at the CICA crane conference. PWB remains a local manufacturer of chains but also has worldwide connections to source items that it does not manufacture.

The online system (https://slingmate.pwbanchor.com.au/) leads users through a series of alternatives to arrive at a solution to the user’s application. Where necessary, advice and notes are provided.

Once a quote is accepted, the process proceeds through assembly, testing and tagging to Australian Standards and then delivery.

Sneak preview on the Nobles stand

Amongst the extensive display for pewag chain and lifting equipment on the Nobles stand at the CICA crane conference was the prototype of a pewag in-line chain shortener. This shortener is designed to improve productivity by allowing chain length to be adjusted from ground level, taking away the traditional need to lower the sling to reach the shortening hooks at the head ring. The shortener is simple to use by hand, and does not require the use of tools.

Nobles GM, marketing Keith Bishop said: “We are delighted to be working with pewag to bring the latest in global chain lifting innovation to our customers in Australia.”

pewag AGWP load distributor on the Nobles stand.

PWB Anchor displayed its Slingmate chain sling quote and supply system on the big screen in Adelaide.

November/December 2017

It seems a simple feature, but the pewag AGWP load distributor is symmetrical, so that when wear becomes apparent on the lower surfaces, it can be rotated through 180° to CL extend its life before replacement.

45

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ELEVATED WORK PLATFORMS/ACCESS EQUIPMENT

Plugging the gaps According to at least one major manufacturer of mobile elevated work platforms (MEWPs), the world’s fleet of MEWPs is expected to grow exponentially over the next two decades. Jacqueline Ong reports.

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resenting at the annual Europlatform in October, chairman of MEWP equipment manufacturer Haulotte, Pierre Saubot, offered some eyebrow raising predictions, saying the sector still had a way to go before reaching market saturation and forecasting machine numbers to hit the seven million mark in two decades from 1.25 million today.

While Saubot’s prediction may sound bold, current EWP market and equipment trends could warrant a big spike in the number of machines both locally and globally.

The evolution is now In Australia, family-owned hire company Kennards Hire recently added the Athena HE, an ultra-compact bi-levelling scissor lift, to its fleet.

Kennards Hire area manager, Harry McCartney, told Cranes and Lifting that with

current WorkCover regulations and various unions pushing for greater safety, EWPs have become the norm and eventually, these machines will overtake scaffolding and ladders.

But it’s not just about safety. Technological advancements have also driven the growth of the EWP market.

“We’re finding that the market is moving into hybrid and lithium batteries and things like that. Previously, we’ve stayed away from them whether it was because of reliability [issues] or how long batteries could last but with technology moving so quickly forward these days, battery-operated machines are now equally as efficient as petrol or diesel. And we see that this is the way the market is going, with hybrid technology taking over,” McCartney said.

Aspac Group, which distributes the Athena, is a niche product marketer that sources global

equipment with applications in Australia and sets out to establish markets for these machines.

Director Martin Eade believes that the Athena HE, which can fit through a standard single door or gate and is light enough (1730kg) to be towed behind a work vehicle, is the future and would revolutionise the market.

“The Athena will allow customers to have one machine, replacing a slab scissor [lift], a roughterrain and also scaffolding in many situations.

And the reason it can do this is because it is able to operate on slopes of up to 20˚, which no other piece of access equipment can do. It is also light enough that you can tow it behind a trailer - with a conventional rough-terrain, a customer would need the hire company to put it on the back of a tilt tray,” Eade said, which of course would cost a few extra dollars.

“The Athena also offers customers the

THE

500 TONNE LIEBHERANRE MOBILE CR

SYDNEY PHONE:

02 9832 1044 Shawn 0412 385 557 Nathan 0412 385 560 NEWCASTLE PHONE:

02 4955 2429 Office & Depot: Lot 2 Kilto Crescent, Glendenning 8 Kalinya Close, Cameron Park Email: admin@borgercranes.com www.borgercranes.com November/December 2017

24 HR – 7 DAY 47

ELEVATED WORK PLATFORMS/ACCESS EQUIPMENT

“We’re finding that the market is moving into hybrid and lithium batteries and things like that. Previously, we’ve stayed away from them whether it was because of reliability [issues] or how long batteries could last but with technology moving so quickly forward these days, battery-operated machines are now equally as efficient as petrol or diesel.”

- Harry McCartney opportunity to work safer and they won’t have to worry about putting up ladders or scaffolding or paying a lot of money to get various machines.

The Athena gives tradespeople the ability to buy one machine that will do all of the jobs they need, significantly reducing their cost of hire. I was talking to a customer and he’s got a job coming up where he was going to spend $6000 on scaffolding. Whereas now, he’s going to buy an Athena and for $280/week or whatever it works out to be to own a machine, he’s got six months payments covered in a single job.”

While Eade noted that some of his customers are “saving themselves in excess of $300,000 a year on hire fees” by purchasing “two or three machines off us” and eliminating the need

for other machines, the Athena will be a big drawcard for hirers as well.

“The hire industry will always be a significant industry and for this particular product, there’s likely going to be more hirers than there are purchasers. Now, you can hire this bit of kit from Kennards Hire and you can get the job done safely and efficiently. And you can return the kit at the end of the day. It’s a win for everybody,” he said.

And it’s this ability to use the one machine instead of a range, as well as the increased safety and savings compared with erecting ladders and scaffolding, that will drive change in the market.

“As building sites get smaller, budgets get

tighter, safety becomes more of an issue, and people need to be more productive to create an income, niche products like the Athena are going to become more commonplace in the market because people expect more from their equipment these days - you are investing a significant amount of money in the capital purchase so you want it to be able to do multiple jobs across a multitude of worksites,” Eade said.

“To have towable all-terrain or a self-levelling machine is something that we never had in Kennards Hire prior and that comes down to the width and the weight and other key features of this machine. We’ve filled a gap there with the Athena,” McCartney added.

LIGHT BUT NOT A LIGHTWEIGHT Key specifications of the Athena HE include: • 7.8 m working height.

• Automatic stabilisation outriggers - making it easier to achieve stability in all terrains.

• Single door access.

• Independent tracks and bi-levelling technology - making any site accessible to the Athena HE. The EWP can operate safely on inclines of up to 23˚.

• Extendable and collapsible basket - quick and easy to adjust for extreme access situations. Raise or lower the cage walls within five minutes.

• Dual power source.

• 250kg load capacity.

• Width 0.80 ÷ 1.24m.

• Grade ability 25˚.

• Side slope 21˚.

• Automatic levelling on two-axis.

• Track widening.

The Athena HE is said to be the lightest and most compact all-terrain scissor lift in the world.

• Suitable for indoors or outdoors.

“As building sites get smaller, budgets get tighter, safety becomes more of an issue, and people need to be more productive to create an income, niche products like the Athena are going to become more commonplace in the market.”

- Martin Eade

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November/December 2017

Tackling tricky worksites As Eade highlighted, worksites are indeed changing and in moving with the times, United Forklift and Access Solutions recently launched its Comet X-Trailer in Australia, a compact and easily portable trailer-mounted boom lift suitable for a range of trade work requiring access to high or tricky areas.

United’s national access product manager, Andrew MacDonald echoed the sentiments of Aspac Group and Kennards Hire, reiterating that customer demands and expectations over the years have been driven by safety, which is at the forefront of the minds of manufacturers, suppliers and operators alike, and today, “we live in a world that has engineered safety into working at heights and machines like the Comet X-Trailer, designed and manufactured by CO.M.ET Officine Italy, is certainly no exception to this.”

“Our drive and motivation is based on the growing need for compact, lightweight userfriendly machines that can be confidently

operated by experienced tradespeople through to the weekend handyman/woman,” MacDonald said.

“Comet -Trailer is perfectly suited for those that have a lower towing capacity vehicle such as a mid-size sedan or small SUV. We also feel that some customers will choose the Comet X-Trailer purely based on storage space. The X-Trailer’s 3.1m length isn’t that much bigger than a 6x4 trailer.”

United has also captured opportunities in Australia and the world’s changing energy puzzle, making the Comet X-Trailer available in electric, petrol, diesel and hybrid models.

“CO.M.ET Officine Italy has chosen to stay with the traditional style hydraulic controls.

CO.M.ET Officine believes that “simpler is better” and having a 100% hydraulically operated machine not only means precise movements, but downtime from maintenance is decreased because fault finding is easier,” MacDonald added.

The Comet X-Trailer only takes up a single car space.

“Our drive and motivation is based on the growing need for compact, lightweight user-friendly machines that can be confidently operated by experienced tradespeople through to the weekend handyman/woman.”

- Andrew MacDonald

IN A CLASS OF ITS OWN Key specifications of the Comet X-Trailer include: • Well-designed double “pantograph” style boom and top telescopic arm useful for tricky low-level areas that need to be accessed.

• 100% hydraulically operated.

• 3.1m in length and 1.8m wide. Some models weigh as low as 1200kg.

• Can be configured with a petrol engine, diesel engine, 24-volt battery powered or a hybrid version.

• Optional self-drive system.

• Additional safety features including an emergency shut-down switch and a ‘dead man pedal’.

So, what’s next?

In a world that strives to do more with less, where safety will continue to be increasingly regulated - and with good reason - and where more and more workspaces are becoming highly constrained, Eade is urging EWP users to think outside the box.

“Don’t confine yourself to conventional thinking. Do your research and you’ll be pleasantly surprised by what you find,” Eade said.

“In regard to the Athena, this is the evolution November/December 2017

that’s here now. In the access market, the Athena has the ability to change the look of most worksites. The market will be different in 10 years’ time because of products like the Athena.”

Meanwhile, McCartney acknowledged that there will always be a challenge in maintaining a balance between safety and keeping with the times but that will not stop Kennards Hire from bringing in new products that both suit Australian standards and industry expectations.

And he noted that there are more changes on the horizon.

“We have standardisation coming for EWPs which the Hire and Rental Industry Association and Elevating Work Platform Association are working on. Standardisation of safety with secondary safety as a key focus is going to be a challenge over the next 12 to 24 months and everyone is pulling together, whether it’s the manufacturers or the hirers or the end user, to make that happen,” he said.

CL 49

CRAWLER CRANES

Wot’s in a tele boom crawler, then???

The 1200t Liebherr LTR 11200 caused quite a stir when first seen at a customer day in Germany in 2009.

Perhaps the one thing that can be said with any certainty about the telescopic boom crawler crane market is that it is growing. Greg Keane reports.

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eyond that, there is considerable divergence of opinion and the crazy thing is, many of those opinions may have an element of truth in them because the market is by no means homogenous.

If you take the two elements of a telescopic boom and tracks, the pioneer was the Kato NK160 - a 16t capacity crane with a short boom that was probably a hybrid experiment by a manufacturer of truck and rough terrain cranes who also happened to make hydraulic excavators as well.

Though that crane was relatively short-lived, owners kept them because they were useful, but no-one followed Kato into that market.

The next version of a telescopic boom crawler crane was probably a mini crawler crane with spider leg outriggers, remote or tethered control and a capacity of less than 3t. Its market was entirely different - generally indoor work in confined spaces.

While pick and carry was an important attribute of the Kato, it wasn’t a big requirement for the early spider cranes.

The Australian experiment with mini crawler 50

cranes, the Linmac, turned the market on its head although total production was quite modest. Pick and carry capabilities were substantially in advance of popular brands on the market. Like with the Kato, owners hung on to the Linmacs because there was a market for a compact crawler crane with useful pick and carry capability.

US company Mantis, now owned by Tadano, had a different take on telescopic boom crawler cranes. They were big and strong, had high ground clearance, could handle side load on the boom, and could also handle an auger attachment. They were a construction machine suited to cross country powerline work and similar demanding work, but weren’t the easiest machine to move around.

Liebherr entered the market with a 100t machine, but its next venture was a 1200t machine with 100m boom that found application on wind farm work, including in Australia.

German manufacturer Sennebogen was an early entrant in the revived telescopic boom crawler market, with some models offering the option of wheels or tracks. It has actually been in this market for longer than most would think,

with its brochure for the 633 E depicting a 1978 TX10 model telescopic boom crawler crane with a single extension, putting it close to the era of the Kato NK160.

With recent releases, Sennebogen has seven models in the 16-120t range, giving it arguably the broadest range in the full size telescopic boom crawler crane market.

It will be interesting to see whether some models cannibalise the market of others and the range is ultimately rationalised, once user preferences become clear.

The traditional entry level spider cranes have grown in size, with Maeda’s MC815C having an 8.09t capacity and Unic’s UR-W1006C having a 10.14t capacity. This size of crane has an onboard operator station.

However, for outdoor work, where there isn’t the same requirement for compact width as indoor work, telescopic crawler cranes based on a mini excavator platform have come into their own, and offer a comfortable air-conditioned operator environment that is a benefit in the Australian sun, when working all day. With the operator cab moving with the boom, the operator arguably has a better view November/December 2017

The 33t Sennebogen 633 E fills a gap at the lower end of the Sennebogen range.

The 230t Link-Belt TCC 2500 packs up to one trailer for the upper and seven support trailers, each with under 20t load.

10t Unic UR-W1006C traditional mini crawler crane.

The 6t capacity Maeda CC1485 adopts a mini excavator platform.

of the load and the work environment than a tradition style mini crawler crane.

Kobelco’s 4.9t capacity CK90UR and CK120UR cranes are recent additions to this market in Australia, and one was seen at the outdoor exhibit of the recent CICA crane conference in Adelaide.

In the US, Link-Belt is active in the telescopic boom crawler crane market, and its recently released 230t TCC 2500 model has a 68m main boom, filling a demand for crawler cranes with boom lengths comparable to all-terrain cranes.

Where cranes in this capacity have extended lifting programs on site, keeping the crane on site rather than returning to base each night makes economic sense, and tracks make it easier to move around site while fully or partly rigged. This advantage can be negated if the crawler crane does not have similar boom length to the comparable AT, and has to be rigged with a jib extension for work involving long reach.

Tough and ready Supporting piling operations is an application where telescopic boom crawler cranes have November/December 2017

become popular in Australia. They suit confined working areas and urban work involving night road possession, requiring fast set-up and pull-down to take best advantage of the limited working window.

John Wagstaff of Wagstaff Piling was a pioneer of identifying this market, and recently bought the first 75t Kobelco TK750FS telescopic boom crawler crane in Australia (it was displayed at the crane conference, prior to going to work on an Adelaide road project).

Kobelco is a long-term king of the lattice boom crawler crane market up to 250t, so its entry into the telescopic boom crawler crane market is significant. One look at the boom reinforcing tells you that it is meant to work hard, and its performance is aimed at matching a 55t lattice boom crawler.

John Wagstaff said: “The main reason for selecting the 75t Kobelco is that it has been designed for work in the foundation industry. It has a sturdy boom, which allows for vibratory piling tools and piling hammers; and has free fall heavy duty winches, which are essential for a piling contractor.”

Wagstaff Piling’s Kobelco TK750 at the Adelaide crane conference.

Is there a sweet spot?

If the diversity of offerings says anything, it is that there isn’t a “sweet spot” for telescopic boom crawler cranes, and that the choice of hydraulic or lattice boom, and wheels or tracks, should not be connected.

The track option could be for several reasons.

In a compact crane, the obvious reason is stability when negotiating tight access, but it could also be for stability and traction when climbing slopes, or achieving good ground clearance without an unacceptably high centre of gravity.

In a larger crane, it could be for ease of moving around site, and being able to safely move the crane while fully or partly rigged.

The choice of telescopic or lattice boom is a separate one. The lattice boom is lighter than a telescopic boom, and better at handling side loads, but it is more cumbersome to erect until you get to the sizes where you need to take the telescopic boom out to travel on the road legally.

If there is an area where telescopic boom crawler cranes are making significant inroads on other styles of crane, it is in the lower end of CL the lattice boom crawler crane market.

51

ASIA PACIFIC REPORT: SOUTH KOREA

A Gottwald for South Korea The South Korean government has called the Port of Pyeongtaek the “gate to the central metropolitan area of Korea”, a sure indication that it is a port of commercial importance. To ensure that that its central terminal operates efficiently, operator Pyeongtaek Dangjin Central Terminal (PDCT), has turned to a Konecranes’ Gottwald Model 4 mobile harbour crane (MHC), writes Jan Arreza.

Konecranes’ Gottwald Model 4 MHC now operating in the PDCT terminal in South Korea.

Jerry Fann, sales director at Konecranes.

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DCT is a joint venture of two South Korean logistic groups - KCTC and Sebang - and is no stranger to the Konecranes Gottwald.

“Their first Gottwald MHC is the one manufactured in 1989. PDCT has been renting this crane from KCTC with very good performance. However, this crane is very old, so, they decided to buy a new one to replace it,” Konecranes sales director Jerry Fann told Cranes and Lifting. ”The other shareholder of PDCT is Sebang and they used to have two units of MHC from other suppliers, but they bought a Konecranes Gottwald MHC for their third crane.”

The new G HMK 4406 variant diesel-electric crane has a maximum lifting capacity of 100t and an outreach of up to 46m. Since August, it has been used to handle bulk and some general cargo in PDCT’s terminal in the capital of Seoul.

For particularly eco-efficient operation, the crane is equipped with an external power supply to hook up to the terminal’s mains.

“The main reason for their decision to choose the Konecranes Gottwald was because they know very well about the advantages of a diesel-electric drive system, and because of strong after-sales service support from the local agent, Kilwoo,” Fann said.

“The diesel-electric MHC has a shore power cable reel system that will produce good savings for fuel consumption, and lowest running and maintenance cost for their operations.”

MHC technology has become an increasing feature in bulk materials handling, a trend that is strongly reflected in the 22 four-rope grab cranes that Gottwald Port Technology sold last year (26.8% of orders) in what was once a market dominated by purpose-built equipment.

52

Konecranes is optimistic that its presence in bulk terminals will continue to grow, given the positive feedback on the new generation harbour cranes, which were launched back in 2006.

With numerous versatile variants and a further upgrading in terms of performance as reflected in lifting capacities of up to 200t and a 63t grab curve, as well as increased hoisting speeds, drive powers, crane classification and moves per hour, the cranes can handle all type of cargo, in all kinds of terminals, on all ship sizes.

“The MHC can help to save big on costs, compared with diesel-hydraulic MHCs. Also, the performance is higher and much better in safety,” Fann said.

And PDCT is pleased with its purchase, saying operations have been running smoothly.

“The cranes have significantly contributed to the sustainable growth of the companies’ handling rates,” said J.H. Park, executive director at PDCT, adding that the plan is to order another machine in the next year or two.

For Konecranes, the company intends to continue its expansion in Asia-Pacific, pointing to new orders on the horizon from global logistics service company, CJ Korea Express.

“In the APAC region, CJ Korea Express has ordered one more model GHMK 4406 in September this year, after they ordered two units of the QM50 last year. Delivery for this MHC to CJ Korea Express is forecast to be by the end of this year,” Fann said.

“Also, Konecranes has received other MHC orders, about 13 units, from within Indonesia from a few different tenders. So, we believe that the Konecranes diesel-electric MHC will be very suitable and beneficial to all of our customers in the APAC region.”

CL November/December 2017

Impartial. Machine Specific. Peer Assessment.

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ASIA PACIFIC REPORT: INDONESIA

XCMG firmly rooted in Indonesia China’s vision to develop a network of railways, ports and special economic zones spanning more than 60 countries - the brainchild of President Xi Jinping - stands a good chance at moving ahead with the President embarking on a second five-year term after securing a renewed mandate during the Chinese Communist Party’s five-yearly national congress this year. And Indonesia could benefit from the Belt and Road Initiative given it is a pivotal hub in the network, writes Jacqueline Ong.

L

Hard at work at the Indonesia Wanxiang Ferronickel Industry Park. (Source: XCMG) XCMG’s tower cranes constructing the 280m tall apartment building in Jakarta. (Source: XCMG)

54

aunched in 2013, the US$1 trillion (AU$1.3 trillion) initiative was also included in the Chinese Communist Party’s constitution at the end of October. In developing this gargantuan (and many say ambitious) network, China aims to generate 40% of global GDP. Indonesia is one country that sits comfortably in the Belt and Road network and as one of the founding members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and a member of the G20, the nation plays a vital role in both the politics and economics of the region. Already, Indonesia has reaped the rewards of the Belt and Road initiative, with China increasing its year-on-year investment in the Southeast Asian nation in 2017 by an astounding 324%. And this has sent a positive message to Chinese enterprises across a range of sectors - there is real and growing cooperation between the two countries.

Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Indonesia has the world’s largest reserve of nickel ore and after a three-and-a-half-year hiatus when the Indonesian government banned all export of unprocessed minerals, the material is now once again being shipped to China. Chinese crane manufacturer, XCMG has been quick to act, capturing the opportunities that have come up and will undoubtedly continue to arise in the country. In the first half of 2017 alone, the export value of XCMG machines to Indonesia has increased 100%.

In May, XCMG opened its Indonesian office, XCMG Indonesia, which the company said “would join hands with local distributors and provide local customers with improved one-stop experience.”

XCMG also aims to use the Indonesian site as a “solid foundation for XCMG to increase its influence upon the entire Asia Pacific region.”

While the office is new, XCMG’s presence in Indonesia has in fact spanned 25 years and since entering the market, the crane manufacturer has participated in a number of major projects, from the construction of high-rise development,

INDONESIA-ONE, the No. 7 Independent Power Generation Project in Java - Indonesia’s largest thermal power station - tunnel construction for the Gatti Gedi Dam Project, and the JakartaBandung Project.

XCMG forges ahead Against this positive backdrop, XCMG is continuing to work on a range of initiatives in Indonesia, deploying its arsenal of machines.

At the Indonesia Wanxiang Ferronickel Industry Park, construction projects are underway and XCMG has deployed a truck crane with a 25t loading capacity that is working on the installation of an XCMG tower crane. At the same time, two other truck cranes, the QY75 and QY25BY are in the midst of constructing a power plant.

But that’s not all. A QUY650 crawler crane is also on-site, engaged to construct a drilling platform. This particular 650t machine was shipped to Indonesia in 2014 and according to XCMG, has been working “without any deficiencies” for the last three years.

Moving up the scale, XCMG has also installed the XGC 16000 crawler crane at the site, the largest crawler crane exported to Indonesia from China.

But engineering machinery demand is not limited to Indonesia’s nickel ore excavation projects. In the nation’s capital of Jakarta, the 280m tall Resistance-8 SCBD Senopati apartment building is under construction and two XCMG tower cranes are on-site, hard at work on the project.

“An enterprise going global must be guided by market demands, and effective local demands are foundations for an enterprise to take root.”

XCMG vice president Sun Jianzhong said.

“XCMG adheres to the principle of production and sales localisation and insists in localisation fusion during the construction of “the Belt and Road”, and provides readily marketable products for countries along the “Belt and Road” line, giving full play to localisation CL advantages of dealers.”

November/December 2017

Experience the Progress.

LTR telescopic crawler cranes from Liebherr Excellent off-road capacity and manoeuvrability “Pick-and-Carry”, driving with full load Short setup times Crane operations up to 4° lateral angle even with reduced track width Rapid relocation on site

Liebherr-Australia Pty. Ltd. Mobile Crane Division 1-15 James Erskine Drive Erskine Park, NSW 2759 Phone: (02) 9852 1800 E-mail: sales.las@liebherr.com www.facebook.com/LiebherrConstruction www.liebherr.com.au