“As Caterpillar equipment got bigger, the need for a larger facility became evident,” says Robert Byron, construction manager at Dean Realty. “Dean Machinery just outgrew the facility.”
The new facility was purpose-built to meet Dean Machinery’s needs, including load and lifting capacities ranging from 1 USt to 15 USt installed throughout. A total of 46 pieces of lifting equipment have been installed at the site, with R&M Materials Handling and Accent Sales & Service Co. teaming up to deliver the lifting solution.
Accent was awarded the contract as equipment provider after a competitive bid process, and chose R&M as its preferred crane manufacturer.
R&M acted as a one-stop shop for Accent, with Accent sales engineer Alan Koch saying they “offered the broad range of capacities and products required to do the job.”
R&M supplied a combination of overhead bridge cranes and hoists that could handle assembly and disassembly work on both smaller and heavier components. This included pre-engineered QX modular crane packages for the design, fabrication and installation of 13 overhead bridge cranes. These packages included top-running motorised bridge cranes, both single and double girder types, each equipped with R&M’s Spacemaster SX wire rope hoists.
Four further bridge cranes were equipped with LoadMate electric chain hoists, to provide low headroom and close trolley end approaches; and 29 LoadMate electric chain hoists were integrated with jibs.
“We fabricated the crane packages at our shop, painted them, and they were completely ready to go,” says Koch. “We were able to install six bridge cranes in one day, with most of the work done in advance at our shop. We delivered all of the cranes complete with the hoists on them.”
“Dean Machinery has always used chain hoists, and we have the Spacemaster SX on some of this new equipment,” adds Byron. “The technology has advanced and we are much happier with the speed of the wire rope. It is much quicker and smoother, and I think they have a lot more manoeuvrability.”
