Rise to the challenge

AMRC Factory 2050 is known as the UK's first reconfigurable assembly and component manufacturing facility for collaborative research.

At the end of last year, the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) with Boeing took possession of Factory 2050, which is the revolutionary, glasswalled "reconfigurable factory" at the heart of the University of Sheffield's new advanced manufacturing campus on Sheffield Business Park.

The AMRC is in the process of installing state of the art technology that will be used in research programmes designed to revolutionise UK manufacturing.

Speaking at the end of last year, AMRC executive dean, Professor Keith Ridgway CBE, explained: "We aim to make Factory 2050 the most advanced factory in the world, built to carry out collaborative research.

"It has been designed to ensure the UK's advanced manufacturing supply chain can access the expertise it needs to make the most of new challenges and opportunities, and that our region retains its international lead in high value manufacturing."

Part of this state of the art investment programme has come from Street Crane, which has designed, supplied and installed cranes that will play a major role in the handling of heavy machinery and parts that include robots, wind turbines and aircraft wings.

In addition to two 10-tonne cranes that can operate in tandem, the contract includes a bespoke, circular overhead crane which is capable of travelling around the unique building and lifting products that weigh up to five tonnes. Ben Morgan, head of the Integrated Manufacturing Group/Factory 2050 explains: "Street's overhead cranes form an essential part of the facility as they are in constant use, locating, moving and positioning heavier objects such as robots and machine beds.

"We needed a lighter crane for the circular building and given its iconic shape, turned to Street to engineer a product that matched our exact specification. The larger cranes are used in tandem to help improve safety. Aircraft wings for example can be flexible, so lifting them with two cranes ensures more stability.

"We've been really impressed by all of Street's products. They're much quicker, safer and more efficient than any others we've used before. "

Chris Lindley-Smith, sales director at Street said seeing the cranes in use and playing a key role in such an advanced facility is "very rewarding".

"The circular, single girder crane is unlike any other we've manufactured before as it incorporates special end carriages that enable it to travel around the track of the circular building," he says. "All of the cranes have been fitted with our renowned ZX hoists which will maximise reliability, production and performance, and minimise maintenance requirements."

The £43m 7,000 sq m circular factory is constructed largely from glass to showcase the advanced manufacturing technologies of the AMRC with Boeing's Integrated Manufacturing Group. Expected to be fully operational by summer 2016, it will house around 70 AMRC staff.

Elsewhere, Siemens Wind Power has awarded Street Crane a £3.3m contract to supply overhead cranes for its stateof- the-art £310m wind turbine production and logistics facilities in Hull. The manufacturer will design, manufacture and install an impressive 32 overhead cranes at the blade manufacturing factory. It will also provide three cranes at the site's service and logistics building and an additional two cranes at a training facility for the blade factory workforce at Alexandra Dock. Street's factory cranes will be utilised to aid the production and despatch of blades and include dual-hoist cranes with tandem control capable of safely and effectively lifting blades up to 75m long.

The 10-acre (40,000 sq m) blade factory, which is due to open in September, forms part of a 133-acre development. It includes manufacturing and servicing facilities as well as a preassembly harbour.

The company was awarded the contract following a "competitive and rigorous tender process" that involved the manufacturer proving it could match the skills, experience and manufacturing expertise required by the client.

Siemens' Hull project director Finbarr Dowling explains: "The overhead cranes have a huge impact on productivity so it is essential that the products and the team behind them are of the highest standard. "Throughout the tender process, Street proved that it had the expertise, resources and flexibility to meet our demands and deliver a solution that maximises efficiency, safety and production output."

Gus Zona, operations director at Street, who is managing the contract added: "We are proud to be working with Siemens on such a significant project that is going to have a major impact on the UK's offshore wind industry as well as the wider economy.

"We worked closely with the architect at the concept stage to design the cranes, ensuring they could operate effectively within the proposed structure and also meet Siemens stringent technical requirements, which replicate those at its wind turbine blade factory in Denmark.

"Offering the latest technology, the cranes are the most advanced of their kind and, with the support of our skilled network of engineers, will ensure that Siemens can meet the changing and growing demands of its customers."