UK industrial crane specialist Street Crane has supplied the bogeys supporting and driving the trusses of the new retractable roof covering the centre court at Wimbledon, underlining the increased sophistication of the technology underwriting the industry.

Letterkenny Army Depot intends to solicit for the purchase of (1) each 4,000 lb. capacity monorail crane system and (4) each 2,000 lb. capacity air hoists with trolleys. A Purchase Description detailing the specifications for these items will be attached to the solicitation when posted. Interested sources should contact the contract specialist, Kristin Robson, at kristin.robson@us.army.mil. Solicitation W911N2-09-T-0136 will be issued O/A 30 June 2009 and will close O/A 21 July 2009. A site v

If it’s true that this recession started in the USA, who’s to say it won’t finish there first? So I guess it makes sense to keep a close eye on developments in the USA to chart our own emergence from recession. Based on this theory, we could already be on the threshold of recovery.

Contractors may not typically think of overhead cranes when planning bridge repair work, but some have found them to be the perfect solution. Two major US construction projects put this theory to the test.

Chris Gilfilen, of US Crane, Inc., gives his take on crane inspection and maintenance.

In a recent poll of visitors to this site, the majority (61%) said the main reason they choose overhead lifting equipment over fork lift trucks is to clear floor space. Some 22% said trucks are cumbersome, noisy and dirty. Click the headline to see how the rest of the votes were shared out...

All companies using hoists should have a hoist safety plan as part of their plant operations. But the strength and effectiveness of this often depends on the attention given to its development and, moreover, its enforcement. US firm Ingersoll Rand says its safety plan guards against the devastating consequences of bad practice.