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NEWS
NEWS NEW MACHINES, NEW OFFICES, NEW PROJECTS, NEW INITIATIVES – WE LOOK AROUND THE REGION AT WHAT’S NEW THIS MONTH 6
Mammoet crane fleet expands in MEA region
Mammoet has expanded its crane fleet in the Middle East, Africa and Caspian (MEA) region with the addition of eight new units comprising crawler cranes and rough-terrain and all-terrain models.
The world’s largest engineered heavy lifting and transport service provider said the new models in the regional fleet are a 600t crawler crane, two 250t all-terrain cranes as well as one each of 400t and 100t capacity all-terrain cranes, along with three 35t rough-terrain cranes.
Mammoet said the expansion increases its capacity in the region, complementing its diverse fleet of equipment for projects and day rental jobs, adding flexibility and greater availability for work in several high-demand geographic areas.
The cranes will support Mammoet’s range of engineered heavy lifting work – from small construction sites to handling complex lifts in industrial plants. They will be available for customers across all sectors including the power, petrochemical, mining, renewables and civil construction sectors throughout the Middle East, Africa and the Caspian region. Shortly after arrival, all cranes have been deployed on various construction projects: a short term- substation transformer installation and infrastructure construction activities throughout the UAE.
Michel Bunnik, commercial director, Mammoet MEA, said: “We are excited to complement our current regional fleet with these additional cranes in the region as we are continually looking for ways to improve the efficiency of our operations and equipment ready availability for construction and maintenance projects, thus reinforcing our emphasis on service to our customers.”
SKYJACK LAUNCHES MICRO SCISSOR Skyjack has introduced its first new “micro scissor” with quiet electric drive for lowlevel access work, designed to easily fit through tight spaces and low floor load ratings. The company said the new micro scissor has two variants based on market regulation: the SJ3013 for the ANSI market, and the SJ3014 for the CE market. Kristopher Schmidt, product manager, Skyjack, said the SJ3014 boasts a 14ft platform height and a working height of 20ft while the ANSI SJ3013 has a platform height of 13ft and working height of 19ft.
MATERIAL HANDLING ASSETS
ADNOC L&S EXPANDS FLEET WITH ACQUISITION OF SPEEDY HIRE
The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s (ADNOC) shipping and maritime logistics arm, ADNOC Logistics & Services (ADNOC L&S), has announced that it has acquired all of the UAE-based assets of Speedy Hire PLC (Speedy), consolidating the position of ADNOC L&S as the largest integrated logistics provider in the GCC by adding over 2,000 pieces of material handling equipment.
Speedy Hire is among the UK’s leading rental companies for tools and equipment used in the oil & gas, construction and industrial sectors. Under the terms of the acquisition, ADNOC L&S has taken ownership of Speedy’s equipment, stock and other fixed assets relating to its Middle East business, which comprise more than 2,000 pieces of equipment, including cranes, forklifts, fire trucks and other high-value machinery used for offshore and onshore material handling services.
ADNOC said the transaction includes a Transitional Services Agreement with ADNOC L&S for up to four months, to support the transfer of assets. During this time, Speedy’s UAE-based employees will be on-boarded by ADNOC L&S at its Mussafah offshore logistics base. Speedy currently has around 600 employees in the UAE.
Captain Abdulkareem Al Masabi, CEO, ADNOC L&S, said: “The expansion plan we are pursuing is in line with ADNOC Group’s 2030 growth strategy. Speedy has been an efficient and reliable equipment and manpower services specialist for several years, and their assets and skilled personnel in the region are valuable as we look to expand our offshore logistics operations.”
Hiab, Thor ME renew agreement for GCC
Truck-mounted crane maker Hiab has renewed its distribution agreement with Thor Middle East LLC as its regional importer and distributor in the GCC region. With the renewal Thor continues to be responsible for sales, parts and service support for the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia for the Swedish truck-mounted crane maker Hiab, which is part of Cargotec.
Meanwhile, Thor has recently been acquired by Al Shirawi Equipment Co. (Oasis Investment Group), a Dubai, UAE, based conglomerate comprising trading, industrial, distribution, contracting and service industries with 10,000 plus employees.
With the addition of Thor Middle East, Al Shirawi will cement its position as the leading ‘One stop’ solution and service provider to the waste management, construction and transportation sectors building on its already dominant position, said a statement from the company.
Thor Middle East will continue to operate as an independent company while being part of the large Al Shirawi group of companies. The move is expected to give Hiab loader cranes, Multilift demountables, Zepro tail lifts, Jonsered recycling cranes and Loglift forestry cranes more visibility and support across the Middle East.
Henrik Wittgren, regional business manager at Hiab, says: “It is important for Hiab to have a strong local partner in the Middle East that can closely support our end customers. For this reason, we are very happy to continue to work with Thor Middle East and look forward to developing a strong partnership with the Al Shirawi Group.”
NEW EMEA GM AT DPP
The Portable Power business of Doosan Bobcat has announced the appointment of Jan Moravec as general manager, Portable Power, for the EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) region. Doosan Portable Power said that the move is in line with “a new global leadership structure to provide the company with increased efficiencies in terms of global operational footprint, global product platforms and other key initiatives”.
JLG INVESTS IN MICROVAST
JLG Industries has announced a planned investment of $25m by its parent company Oshkosh Corporation, in Microvast, a global provider of nextgeneration battery technologies. JLG aims to use the battery tech in its electric equipment.
DOOSAN ‘TRANSPARENT BUCKET’ SYSTEM IMPROVES LOADER SAFETY Doosan Infracore Europe has launched the industry’s first wheeled loader “transparent bucket” system, which allows operators to see blind spots in front of the bucket on the machine using the monitor in the cab. Wheeled loader buckets cause blind spots in the area in front of the machine - a concern in terms of safety. Doosan said its new system records images in front of the loader with top and bottom front-loaded cameras and shows combined images on the cab monitor in real time using a curved projection method.
CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION TADWEER RECYCLES 1.9M TONS OF WASTE IN 2020
The Abu Dhabi Waste Management Centre (Tadweer) recycled 1,915,724 tons of construction and demolition (C&D) waste in Abu Dhabi in 2020, accounting for 80% of the total C&D waste it handled in the year.
Tadweer said the total tonnage of recycled waste is equivalent to 255 domes of the Louvre Museum in Abu Dhabi. The emirate of Abu Dhabi also accounted for 2,400,000t or 32% of the C&D waste that Tadweer handled in 2020.
Tadweer added that in order to reduce waste resulting from C&D activities across the emirate, it is implementing various programmes to enhance its recycling capabilities in accordance with the highest local and international standards. This aligns with the Abu Dhabi Executive Council’s decision that mandates the use of at least 40% of recycled materials in road and construction projects across the emirate’s three regions. The facilities can produce treated sand and four sizes of recycled aggregate, 0mm to 37.5mm.
Atlas Copco gensets for Saudi factory
Atlas Copco has supplied four TwinPowerTM generators for uninterrupted power supply purposes to Saudi Arabia’s Jasmine Water and Beverages Factory Ltd. Co. (JWB) through GCC Olayan, Atlas Copco’s partner in the Saudi market.
Atlas Copco said JWB’s plant is in a remote location in the desert 120km west of Riyadh city, without access to a stable power grid, and was facing frequent power failures, making continuous production difficult.
JWB turned to Atlas Copco Power and Flow’s official distributor in Saudi Arabia, GCC Olayan, for a solution to give them uninterrupted power supply for 24/7 operations with a reliable generator. GCC Olayan recommended four TwinPowerTM generators, which are containerised portable generators that deliver “versatility, fuel economy and twice the amount of on-site power than conventional Independent Power Plants (IPPS)”.
According Atlas Copco, the TwinPowerTM is a 20ft, ISO containerised unit housing two compact 500kVA generators powered by compact Scania engines. “This configuration, with an advanced control system, allows the two generators to work independently or in parallel with each other. This makes it ideally suited for applications that have variable power needs, whether due to the time of day or the current usage requirement.” As JWB needed 4,000 kVA to work in synchronisation, Atlas Copco modified the units’ totalisation and distribution panel and fuel systems.
AL MASAOOD, NIDEC LEROYSOMER JOIN FOR SERVICE Al Masaood Power Division has joined forces with alternator heavyweight Nidec Leroy-Somer (NLS) for a one-stop service workshop in the GCC for aftersales support to alternators from the NLS and Kato Engineering brands. The deal expands on their existing partnerships.
TECH IMPROVES EFFICIENCY
ZAHID TRACTOR USES INFOR ERP FOR MACHINERY AND VEHICLE OPERATIONS
Saudi Arabia’s Zahid Tractor has announced that it has integrated Infor enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems into its operations for construction machinery and commercial vehicles supply across the kingdom.
Zahid Trctor, part of the Zahid Group, is the authorised Saudi distributor for Caterpillar in its Construction Machinery division, under a partnership that has been in place for 71 years. It is also the authorised distributor for the Volvo Trucks Group under its Commercial Vehicles division, representing brands such as Volvo Trucks, Renault Trucks and UD Trucks in a 41-year partnership so far.
The move to integrate Infor M3 systems has been done with a view to streamline and gain visibility across all departments, said Infor, a global business cloud software specialist.
“The integration of Infor M3 for Equipment allows Zahid Tractor to continue to distinguish its customercentric offering and commitment to excellence across Saudi Arabia’s construction, transportation and rental sectors,” said Infor.
Zahid Tractor originally depended on a bespoke homegrown ERP solution. “As the company continued to grow, this solution was no longer feasible.”
Infor M3 said it met all the requirements stemming from interface-driven initiatives Zahid Tractor has with its OEM partners, which help increase supply chain visibility and improve service levels for their customers. CLIMATE CERTIFICATION FOR WOLFFKRAN
Wolffkran has achieved an important green credential, becoming among the first to be certified in Germany as a climate-neutral company. The certification was conducted by Fokus Zukunft GmbH & Co. KG, an independent sustainability consultancy, which evaluated the CO2 emissions at Wolffkran’s two German production sites.
Tenderd, EMA agree for joint fleet services
Online equipment rental marketplace Tenderd and EMA Lubricants Company (ExxonMobil JV) have announced an agreement to offer maintenance services to equipment fleet owners in order for them to prevent breakdowns, increase fleet productivity and reduce project costs and delays.
According to Tenderd, the “breakdown of one single piece of machinery on-site means loss of operation, project delays and extra costs”. Since equipment and on-site work is interdependent, one single breakdown can bring the job site to a standstill. Other equipment and resources continue to absorb costs while idling by and waiting for the breakdown to be resolved. The single most important issue that causes equipment breakdown is the lack of proper maintenance. The collaboration between EMALU and Tenderd aims to address this problem.
Arjun Mohan, founder, Tenderd, said: “It’s very exciting to see our company collaborate with a global player in offering a large scope of different lubrication solutions to fit each client’s needs. With this association, our customers can now enjoy the benefits of using Mobil’s technology and services to protect their equipment and maximise fleet productivity.”
TADANO ATCS BUILD TESLA’S GERMAN MEGAFACTORY
Tesla is in the process of building its latest Gigafactory near Berlin. And it’s not just the capabilities of the finished factory that are set to be “giga”, as the construction project itself is turning out to be a remarkable undertaking, too. This is where Hellmich Kranservice GmbH is proving to be a vital contributor to the construction and installation of the factory with the help of its four Tadano all-terrain cranes.
The Gigafactory BerlinBrandenburg is set to be the most advanced series production facility for electric vehicles in the world, according to Tesla. The Model Y and other subsequent models from the Elon Musk-founded company will be made here. The facility is being built in record time: Construction only began at the start of 2020 and is set to be completed as early as this summer. The topping-out ceremony for Hall 1 of the factory was celebrated in November. Even the dimensions of the factory are “giga”, with Tesla currently expecting the total area of the industrial site to be over 3m square metres, making it larger than the factory premises of the main Mercedes-Benz plant in Stuttgart.
To bring a construction project of this size to fruition in such a short time requires perfect planning and execution. Any delay would have a negative impact on subsequent processes in the chain – something the general contractor for the construction, Goldbeck International Beton und Stahl, is well aware of. This is why the company relies exclusively on partners renowned for their reliability and speed, such as Hellmich Kranservice GmbH from Riedstadt-Erfelden.
Hellmich relies on trustworthy crane technology, boasting as many as four Tadano all-terrain cranes in active use across Grünheide. The two 44m boom-version Tadano ATF 70G-4s and two ATF 110G-5s are now working on getting the Gigafactory ready, with tasks including erecting fire walls and concrete columns as well as lifting steel trusses and panels for the roof.
The Gigafactory is being constructed based on the “Lego principle”, explains Carsten Molitor from the Hellmich planning department: “There are four halls in total, each 300m long and 200m wide. to be combined into one large complex at the end.”
For Hellmich Kranservice, this means endless lifting of prefabricated parts of various weights and dimensions. The concrete columns that form the basic structure weigh 15-30t, depending on the design. As for the fire walls, these weigh 10t, while the steel trusses and roof panels are around 3t each. The steel girders alone have a total weight of around 5,000t, so it’s an extreme load for the technology and crane drivers to handle.
Molitor says: “When it comes to concrete and steel construction, we prefer to use Tadano cranes. They really are unbeatable in this area on account of the lifting capacities they offer in their respective classes. We also appreciate the flexibility of the machines from Lauf an der Pegnitz.
Given the large number of machines on site, space is at a premium. This is when the compactness of the 70 and 110 really pays off. The ATF 70G-4 is only 2.66m wide and less than 12.5m long, while the five-axles are a narrow 2.75m wide and well under 15m long. On projects like this, the 110 also ranks highly with its asymmetrical outrigger base, which allows it to achieve optimal lifting capacities with outriggers extended to different distances. This is another advantage of Tadano cranes on the busy Tesla construction site.
POTAIN TRIO IN MILAN RENEWAL PROJECT
Contractor and developer Cooperativa Braccianti e Muratori di Carpi (C.M.B.) has deployed two Potain MD 208 A tower cranes and a Potain topless MDT 219 for the Symbiosis project in the Ripamonti district of Milan, Italy.
The Symbiosis project, led by Covivio, aims to transform a decaying industrial area in the south of the city into a new destination for the service sector, close to the prestigious Fondazione Prada and Bocconi University. The plan is to regenerate the area into a high-tech and environmentally sustainable business district with 125,000sqm of new office space across 10 buildings around a green landscaped square with pedestrian paths, trees and ponds, creating a relaxed atmosphere for workers and citizens. It is hoped the project will serve as a model for sustainable urban planning, using the latest technologies to limit building emissions and promote the use of shared electric transport.
The construction of the “D” building began at the site in Ripamonti in February last year but was soon interrupted due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The first two Potain cranes were installed when construction activities resumed in May and C.M.B. decided to install a third crane a few weeks later to speed up progress. The project is scheduled for completion in October.
C.M.B., a Potain customer since the early 1970s, chose the MDT 219 and two MD 208 A for their quality, reliability and productivity. Ivan Catini, responsible for central services at C.M.B, says: “These are high performance cranes which ensure optimal productivity on site and they maintain their value, which makes them easy to relocate on the market. “
The Potain MD 208 A is a popular model for urban job sites thanks to its 10t capacity, 62.5m maximum operating radius, multiple base and hoisting winch options and Ultra View cab, which provides good visibility from its 9m2 glass surface, as well as a comfortable operator environment with joystick-operable commands.
The Potain MDT 219 is also a 10t capacity crane and features the CCS (Crane Control System), which offers high comfort, flexibility and ergonomic control. The MDT CSS topless concept enables complex multi-crane installation with shortened phases of assembly, erection, transport and even maintenance. Crane configuration settings are made via the CCS display directly from the cab in only 15 minutes. Without CCS, it would take three hours.
“Operator feedback confirms the efficiency of the CCS system, which limits dynamic effects, automatically adjusts speed and acceleration, optimises the load curve and enables operators to lift with total control,” said Marco Arena, jobsite director.
