Job map

Calgary, Canada
Construction materials supplier Lafarge increased production speed at its precast concrete pipe manufacturing plant in Calgary, Canada, by replacing forklifts and cranes with a Shuttlelift SB 70 gantry crane. While the previous system required four workers and two pieces of plant, using the SB 70 one operator can manage the loads safely, and with no additional machinery.

Convent, Louisiana
Gottwald Port Technology in Houston built two 100t capacity harbour pontoon cranes for transshipping operations on the Mississippi River. Two model 8 variant G HPK 8400 B floating cranes will be used for the transshipment of bulk goods, including ores, coal, cereals, and fertilizers. They will support the work of an existing fleet for St James Stevedoring Partners of Louisiana, US.

A Demag subsidiary, Gottwald has made use of what they believe is the highest performance 63t grab curve that Demag Cranes has ever installed on a floating crane, enabling the crane to handle up to 1,850t of bulk material per hour.

Each G HPK 8400 B has also been fitted with an EU approved verifiable weighing system that Gottwald says is more precise than conventional load measuring techniques.

Referring to the new technology, St James Stevedoring Partners' president, Paul Morton, said, "Thanks to this innovation, in the future we will be able to offer our customers complete transparency with reference to the tran-shipped goods.

Chesapeake Bay
Gorbel recently provided two articulating arm jib cranes to support retrofitting of bearings on the columns of the four mile-long Chesapeake Bay Bridge between Baltimore and Washington DC. To carry out the replacement of bearings on the bridge's columns some heavy equipment needed to be lifted to the working area, and this could not be done with a mobile crane placed on the bridge, disrupting traffic.

Gorbel chose two of its 450kg capacity articulating arm jib cranes for the role and to save space in the working area. Although the freestanding model of the jib crane was used, the crane's supporting column was removed to make space and the cranes were mounted directly on the side of the bridge.

Warner Robins, Georgia
Canton-based US Technologies Inc, (UST) designed a custom system for the US Air Force that allows for the precise multiaxis positioning of the aircraft wings during assembly and disassembly.

UST helped develop a method that would allow a manned platform or cab fixed with a spray nozzle to be hoisted around the plane. This Aerial Multiaccess Platform, or AMP, was suspended from an overhead crane which gave the operator access to every part of the aircraft.

Hinsdale is looking for new applications for the AMP system. He says, "I believe the applications are limitless. The primary qualification would be any lifting and mating or assembly where manipulating the load is critical. It would also be specific to loads that are of a high enough capacity to disqualify using a handling device or manipulator."