Upward Trajectory

According to recent research from Timetric, this market is expected to expand over the next three years, supported by growth in the refinery buildings, storage tanks and waste-processing plants categories.

Government efforts to retain the country's position as one of Asia's leading refining and oil trading hubs are likely to attract investments in the storage tanks and refining industry. The market is consequently expected to be the fastest-growing, and will register a forecastperiod CAGR of 6.03% to reach a value of SGD10.7 billion (US$8.4 billion) in 2018.

Manufacturing plants were the largest category in the industrial construction market in 2013, with a 29.0% share. There is a positive outlook in the manufacturing industry due to increased production and export demand is likely to support growth in the manufacturing plants category, which is projected to record a CAGR of 5.84% by 2018 to value SGD3.1 billion (US$2.4 billion).

With this upward trajectory in mind, it is fitting that the inagural LEEA Lifting & Rigging Conference Asia will take place at the Holiday Inn Singapore Atrium on Outram Road from 23-24 June 2015.

The event will be opened by the Singapore Ministry of Manpower, and comprises two days of presentations and networking for lifting industry professionals. The conference, which is organized by Bridger Howes, is particularly relevant for professionals working with overhead cranes, hoists and rigging equipment in onshore, offshore and marine applications. Look out for detailed coverage of the conference in upcoming issues.

Elsewhere in this issue, we find that across the myriad of America's manufacturing industries, safety and throughput are the key drivers for innovation in overhead cranes.

"There's a general trend towards higher efficiency and higher productivity, so customers want to do more with less. That means equipment that's greener so it has lower energy consumption, and faster, higher-duty cycles so that means greater automation and more sensors," says Gustavo Oberto, Conductix's managing director for region Americas.

We also have the first part of a paper from Kor-Pak's Christopher J Koralik, who examines key elements in the engineering mechanics and component specifications that affect overhead crane brake selection with the intent of empowering readers to make appropriate product selection.

"The employment of an optimal brake for overhead crane applications yields desirable and positive results: increased safety, greater efficiency, improved uptime, and reduced maintenance. Conversely, improper brake selection can be catastrophic," he discusses.