Jib and overhead crane contracts for Mechan

The two jib cranes will be erected on top of high-capacity storage tanks at the Sirri Island LNG terminal off the coast of Iran.

The cranes were designed and fabricated by Mechan to explosion-proof outdoor specification. They will facilitate the periodic removal for maintenance and subsequent reinstatement of heavy LNG pumps supplied for the tanks by Weir LGE Process.

Mechan managing director Richard Carr said: "We have extensive experience of supplying the oil and gas industries with specialist heavy handling and lifting equipment. This includes hose-handling apparatus that may comprise jib cranes, hoists and monorail systems."

He added: "Past UK projects have included installations at Baglan Bay for BP Chemicals and Grangemouth for BP Oil. The capabilities of our pump-lifting jib and goliath cranes for LNG tanks have been established at several locations, including Gandhar and Dahej in India."

Specialist heavy-handling equipment for the latest engine test bed at the Rolls-Royce plc aerospace engine facility in Derby was part of a £1.6m contract with Cullum Detuners.

Mechan previously supplied a system for the adjacent Test Bed 57 some years earlier. The shared preparation shop arrangements for Test Beds 57 and 58 necessitated a system that would permit interchangeability. As supplier of the earlier system, Mechan was able to guarantee that this criterion would be fully met.

The new transportation system comprises a series of hoists, monorail installations and a travelling bridge to the test-bed, where a roof-mounted turntable permits rotation of the engine. A refined control system ensures safe and efficient operation.

Another essential requirement was that the transportation system would be able to withstand the stresses of demanding test procedures.

The range of certification tests to be carried out on Test Bed 58 will include fan blade containment, bird ingestion and cold start performance. This capability, plus the sheer scale of the 'twin' 57 and 58 Beds and their silencing equipment, makes the combined complex the most advanced indoor jet engine test centre in the world.

Carr explained: "In the 1990s, Mechan manufactured and installed a 35t capacity overhead handling system at Derby to transfer Rolls-Royce Trent series engines between the preparation area and Test Bed 57. We were therefore well placed to bid for the Test Bed 58 contract."