vanguard
feature
Making Light of
heavy work
Vanguard is a dominant player in abnormal transport, heavy lift and plant relocation in Africa. By Ian Armitage 2
www.southafricamag.com
Vanguard FOCUS INDUSTRY
A
bnormal transport, heavy lifting and specialised plant relocation company Vanguard can count the likes of Krones, Hitachi, and Siemens amongst its customers. It is able to attract large reputable clients because of its reputation for good quality and timely service at the highest standard. “We offer the complete engineering solutions to the abnormal and heavy lift projects. We can also offer the turnkey solution for the relocation, installation and commissioning of plants and heavy equipment,” says general manager Craig Pace. “With Vanguard, the emphasis is to perform and deliver to schedule. We have a great reputation, developed over 40 years in the industry.”
The GTK 1100 at a glance Of the 11 GTK 1100 telescopic cranes ever built, Vanguard’s is the only one in the southern hemisphere. The rare crane’s compactness, lifting capacity and manoeuvrability make it ideal for a large variety of functions in the petrochemical industry, the erection of windmills, in-harbour rigging and other applications where space limitations prevent standard cranes from operating effectively. It can negotiate small, narrow gaps and its self-erecting tower contributes to extremely fast set-up – ready for operation in just four to six hours.
www.southafricamag.com
3
Vanguard FOCUS INDUSTRY
ORMIG Since 1949, ORMIG SpA has been a leading manufacturer of mobile industrial cranes, including “Pick and carry” for free-on-wheels lifting and handling of loads. The main features of this equipment are the reduced overall dimensions compared with remarkable capacities. The present range goes from 5.5 to 60 tonnes, with diesel engines or electric power to comply with all working requirements in various fields of lifting activity. These cranes are particularly useful for load moving in industrial activities or in external yards and everywhere it is required a lifting and travelling operation with hooked load.
Customers can vouch for that. “We’ve got some of the most sophisticated equipment in the world, for example our GTK 1100 mobile crane,” Pace says. “This is a rare piece of equipment – only 11 pieces in the world.” It is currently deployed at the Medupi Power station, between boiler 5 and 6. Hitachi, the contractor responsible for the six 800 MW steam generators at Medupi, has contracted Vanguard to provide the “specialised heavy lifting” in “confined spaces” for a two year project. “Coal conveyors run parallel to the boilers blocking crawler cranes,” says Pace. “The advantage of the GTK is that the boom can simply be lowered and then driven out beneath the coal conveyors, unlike the crawler 4
www.southafricamag.com
Our most important client in South Africa is Vanguard Rigging, who are currently using 4 Ormig cranes: · Model 10tmE (10 tonnes max capacity) at electric power · 16tmE (16 tonnes max capacity) at electric power · Two units 33tm, 33 tonnes max lifting capacity Ormig is very proud to have Vanguard Rigging as a client and Ormig have a great esteem and appreciation of their way of working, the reliability and accuracy of the staff.
ORMIG S.p.A. PIAZZALE ORMIG P.O. BOX 63 15076 OVADA (AL) ITALY TEL. (+39) 0143.80051 r.a. FAX (+39) 0143.86568 E-mail: mktg@ormigspa.com www.ormig.com www.pickandcarry.com
Vanguard is not restricted only to Africa and has worked in various parts of the world including America, UK, Spain, and Italy, amongst others. We are excited by what the future is going to hold
6
www.southafricamag.com
cranes that require a large area for disassembling the boom. This is a rare crane and it is ideal for a working at heights in confined spaces like in the petrol chemical, power generation and wind industries.” Vanguard has grown to become a dominant player in the abnormal transport, heavy lifting and relocation of complex plant and machinery sector, on a local and global scale. The company head office is in Joburg, with branches in Cape Town, Durban and Richards Bay. It also has representatives in Namibia, Kenya and Mozambique. “What’s our secret? Our project engineering department, hard work and hands on management involvement,”
Vanguard FOCUS INDUSTRY
says Pace. “What’s next? Expand our footprint into Africa. We’re already involved in work in Mozambique and have a history of working in Africa; as we speak we have just completed the transport and loading of 135 ton transformer to Songa.” Amongst some of its more high profile projects in Africa, Vanguard was contracted to assist with the rigging of the High Energy Stereoscopic System (HESS), located 100 km southwest of Windhoek. It was also recently sub-contracted by SDV, specialists in international logistics and transport, to deliver three diesel generator sets from Richards Bay to Konkola Copper Mines in Zambia. “After a quiet two years, caused by the down turn in the world economy, we now have a large increase in abnormal cargo into Africa,” Pace says. “Next on the agenda is seeking further work in Africa. Africa is a challenging environment. When you leave SA the infrastructure isn’t there. That’s a huge challenge especially in our line of work. We are looking to grow into Africa – into Zambia, DRC, Angola and Mozambique, amongst others. “Vanguard is not restricted only to Africa and has worked in various parts of the world including America, UK, Spain, and Italy, amongst others. We are excited by what the future is going to hold. We think there is great opportunity in Africa but we are kidding ourselves if we think it’ll be easy.” Pace is confident that Vanguard can capitalise on the opportunities Africa has to offer and is optimistic about the future. “It’s very exciting,” he says. END To learn more visit www.vanguard.co.za. www.southafricamag.com
7
South Africa Magazine, Suite 9 and 10, The Royal, Bank Plain, Norwich, Norfolk, UK. NR2 4SF TNT Multimedia Limited, Unit 209, 16 Brune Place, London E1 7NJ Enquiries Telephone: +44 (0) 1603 343367 Fax: +44 (0)1603 343502 andy.williams@tntmultimedia.com Subscriptions Call: +44 (0)1603 343502 andy.williams@tntmultimedia.com
www.southafricamag.com
Drostdy Street The Gables Cleveland Johannesburg South Africa Tel: +27 11 616 1800 Fax: +27 11 615 1012 Email: staceyd@vanguard.co.za
www.vanguard.co.za