10 minute read
KING OF SPIDERS
SPIDER PLUS INTRODUCES THE BIGGEST MINI SPIDER CRANE IN THE WORLD TO THE REGION –THE UNIC 1006 – WHICH MARRIES A WHOPPING 10T IN MAXIMUM LIFTING CAPACITY WITH COMPACT GO-ANYWHERE DIMENSIONS TO MAKE HEAVY LIFTS POSSIBLE IN DIFFICULT-TO-ACCESS AREAS
The king of spider cranes has arrived in the region. In December 2020, Dubai-based crane and specialised equipment rental major, Spider Plus, brought in the UNIC URW 1006 spider crane, the biggest of its kind built so far, to join its fleet. The model is deceptively small to look ta when folded and stored, but once it spreads out its jointed outriggers and raises its boom, the arachnoid pose it strikes makes it look every bit a giant spider waiting to pounce on a load as if it’s prey and give it a powerful hoist.
“This is the first and the biggest mini spider crane not only in the UAE, but also in the region. It is also the biggest one of its kind ever manufactured,” says Eddie Nobrega, regional sales manager at Spider Plus, as he describes the unit.
“Among the most important points about the 1006 is that it only weighs 14t but has a lift capacity of 10t.This is a special ability. Cranes with similar capacities in the market usually have much bigger footprints. The beauty of this crane is that at a certain radius and a certain boom length it also works like a pick-and-carry crane. So, while it’s holding the load up, it can actually crawl with it. This is a huge benefit for the users of this crane.”
The UNIC URW 1006 can crawl forward with the outriggers both in and out. If the outriggers are in while crawling then its maximum capacity to pick and carry is only around 700kg up to a radius of 2.5m. Crawling with extended outriggers, however, it can carry around 1.5t at the same radius, or around double the weight compared to when they are in. The outriggers remain just above the ground and act as balancers and stabilisers while the crane crawls on its rubber tracks with the load. This makes it dual-purpose or a multipurpose crane.
Aiding that ability for multipurpose application is its compact, go-anywhere dimensions, and Nobrega describes: “This mini spider crane can squeeze through some really tight gaps and access areas where few other cranes can go. Again, within the UNIC brand of cranes there are very versatile models, which in effect fit through most places. Although this is a big capacity crane and not a small one by any means, it’s not a big, bulky crane and you wouldn’t guess its lifting capabilities by looking at its size when it is folded and moving on a job-site.
“We got this in into the UAE around December, and among the first jobs it worked on was at a new crate washing plant site being
The new UNIC 1006 mini spider crane from Spider Plus is seen here in one of its first jobs in the UAE, lifting and placing two massive steel tanks in the confines of a crate washing factory in JAFZA.
set up in a warehouse in Dubai’s Jebel Ali.” The beauty of this crane is that whereas contractors, engineers and project owners are very scared about cranes going over built-up concrete slabs on a structure, this is a machine that lays such fears to rest. This is a 14t crane that worked on a slab with a basement underneath it to lower heat exchanger units for EmPower at the new DMCC tower job-site.
“Of course, we had to do some propping and spreading the load on the slab over the beams, but it was completely and easily achievable. And this is something that spider cranes like this one are capable of doing - going inside buildings and on built-up slabs and executing lifting jobs in narrow semi-finished spaces.”
The job he refers to is for GLS International, which involves lifting and positioning two enormous cylindrical steel tanks, each with a capacity of 22,000 litres, as part of a filtration unit for a crate washing plant.
With CMME in attendance on the day of the lift, Nobrega takes us through the particulars of the job: “The objects we are lifting here today are two 22,000-litre steel tanks for liquids imported from The
Working on a warehouse floor accessible through a 4m-wide doorway and under the constraint of a 10m high ceiling, the UNIC 1006 made light work of raising the 6.2m long 1.8t steel tank.
SPECIFICATIONS
UNIC URW 1006 MINI SPIDER CRANE
Total unit weight: 14t Max lifting capacity: 10t Max working radius: 21.9m (24.3m with fly jib) Max lifting height: 22.8m (30.7m with second stage fly jib) Engine and output: Yanmar diesel, 29.8kW Netherlands, each weighing approximately 1.8t. In terms of dimensions, each tank is a cylinder that is about 6.2m in height and 2.4m across. They came in containers, flat on their side, and that’s obviously why we need the crane to get them upright and also to have them positioned at just the right spot in the warehouse so that GLS International can connect them to their washing plant.”
With this being an indoor lift, in a confined environment, several other considerations of the surroundings needed to be taken onboard, such as the space available for the cranes to lift. Explaining this, Nobrega elaborates: “The first thing we did was to measure the height of the warehouse ceiling, which we found to be 10m. We were a bit worried as the original plans said the tanks were 8m in height, which would have only given us a 2m clearance for the crane’s boom to operate, and that would not have been enough. But then GLS confirmed the figure at 6.2m, which gave us a comfortable 4m clearance between the ceiling and the top of the tanks for the crane’s boom and hook to operate.”
That confirmation was given by Gerrit Mostert, operations manager, GLS
International, who says selecting Spider Plus for the lift was a no-brainer given that the company had the specific crane in its fleet that was needed for the job.
“We needed a crane with adequate capacity and lift height that was able to come and position itself indoors for the lift, so you need something that can go through standard warehouse cargo docking doors. Since the lift is happening indoors in a building with a roof on top, you can’t use a construction crane or any other type of crane from outside,” says Mostert.
“This building also does not have a ramp wide enough for most vehicles to drive up; the biggest ramp we have here is only 2m wide. So the advantage with Spider Plus was that they had this spider crane that they were able to deliver on a flatbed truck, which aligned with our loading dock and then they were able to drive the crane while it was in a folded condition directly through the loading doors onto the floor, position it at the right spot and start setting up straight away. There weren’t any hassles in trying to get the crane inside and position it. I’ve seen places where they’ve had to break through a wall to get a crane inside or lift the roof. That would have been impossible to do here, from the perspective of the project execution speed we needed as well as from the financial, logistics and all other points of view.
“In the lead-up to the lift, the Spider Plus team visited this venue a few times and made sure that all heights, clearances and tolerances were measured and mapped out, based on which the crane choice was finalised and the lift planned. Today they arrived here at 8am. It’s 9am now and the first tank has already been lifted and positioned on its spot. By 10am I expect they will have completed the other lift and the crane would be back on the trailer that brought it here and on its way. So, the service from Spider Plus has also been exceptional.”
Analysing the lift after the job’s completion, Nobrega tells CMME: “In the preparation stages of the lift, we ascertained which crane to select for the job based on all necessary information - such as the dimensions of the load, the sort of lift that needed to take place - in this case a top-and-tail lift – and the size of the doorway through which the crane would need to fit to access the lift spot. We measured the roof height accurately to make sure we had the clearance and didn’t hit it. We also took a close look at the units which had been delivered, noting the lifting eyes, and finalised the rigging, making sure we had the right shackles, hooks and all other lifting gear. And then we were ready to bring in the crane and execute the job.
The UNIC 1006 not only has a maximum stationary lift capacity of 10t, but can also pick and carry 700kg with its outriggers in and 1.5t with them extended, both at a 2.5m radius.
“On the day of the lift, we drove the crane through the warehouse’s 4m-wide by 5m-high doorway, which was more than wide-enough for the crane to travel through when folded as it is only 2.5m in width and around 3m high. The crane was driven on its tracks right up to the lift spot where the tanks lay on their side and then after all the riggings were hooked up, the lifting process saw the boom head being extended to 9.5m and under it our slings were about 1.5m long. With the actual load being 6.2m tall, the boom around 0.5m of space to manoeuvre, which was enough.
This tight, challenging and precision lifting job in a confined space was made possible because of the unique features of the UNIC URW 1006 spider crane, with which we lifted the huge tanks up and positioned them on the proverbial spot marked by the ‘X’.”
However, Spider Plus is more than just a provider of spider cranes. Describing its operations, Nobrega adds: “At Spider Plus, we operate throughout the GCC and provide complete back up and support to users of this crane, as well as our other spider cranes from the UNIC brand. We do this for both our rental customers and for those that buy these cranes from us. So, the servicing is done by us and we look after all after-sales aspects, such as fulfilling warranties.
“We also provide the operators for our rental customers and we conduct operator training at no extra cost for those who buy these cranes from us, as well as train the operators of our rental customers who want to use their own operators. Of course, all operators, including our own, are trained to a very high standard where safety and efficiency are concerned.
“We are a unique company in the segments that we operate in, given our operational knowledge, our back-up and the auxiliaries that go with the products that we offer. With the inclusion of the URW 1006 into our fleet, our range of cranes spans from 10t to less than a ton in lift capacities.”
And, of course, ruling the web is the new king of spiders – Spider Plus’ UNIC URW 1006 mini spider crane.
