WORLD NEWS
8
INTERNATIONAL AND SPECIALIZED TRANSPORT
■
DECEMBER 2013
HIGHLIGHTS
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The King Vehicle
Engineering Group reported a
sales increase of 38 % to
£16.7 million (US$26.5 million),
with profit before tax more
than doubling to £1.13
million ($1.7 million) for the
year ending 31 March 2013.
Growth has been linked to the
company’s rail engineering
division and increased sales
of aerial platforms. In addition,
distributorship for Palfinger
hooklifts contributed to more
than £2 million ($ 3 million)
of sales, while profit also
increased at King’s specialist
vehicle rental division.
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Crane manufacturer Omega
Platforms in the Netherlands
has delivered a new custom-
designed track driven crane
to Hæhre Maskinutleie in
Norway. The crane section,
a Fassi F110.A24 hydraulic
loader crane, is mounted on an
independent double track drive.
It measures 7 metres long,
2.4 m wide and 3.1 m high.
The unit is self propelled
and is driven by a steel track
with rubber pads. Additional
features on the crane designed
by Omega Platforms includes a
gripper which can be moved
90 degrees up or down and
45 degrees left or right. The
unit is controlled by remote
control.The crane is designed
to pick steel mesh from a stack
and hold this to a ceiling of a
tunnel under construction.
Regional first for Asiagroup
with 1,000 tonne Terex
Lifting and heavy haulage
service provider Asiagroup
Leasing, based in Singapore,
has taken delivery of the
first unit of the 1,200 tonne
capacity class Terex AC 1000
telescopic wheeled mobile
crane in Asia. A launch event
to mark the occasion was
being held on 12 December.
The all terrain crane was
delivered with the 50 metre
and 100 m boom options.
It was chosen for its ability
to work in small areas
and on narrow roads, a
company spokesperson said.
Applications will include high
rise construction projects.
The AC 1000 joins a fleet of
all terrains and rough terrains
ranging from 80 tonnes
capacity to the new 1,000
tonner; crawlers ranging from
50 tonnes to 650 tonnes; and
60 axle lines of Goldhofer
multi-axle modular trailers
for specialized oversize or
overweight loads.
Typical work for the fleet
of cranes includes carrying
out heavy lifts in oil refineries,
construction and the marine
industry sectors.
The 6 MW Haliade
150 offshore wind
turbine erected
and, inset, its
nacelle on the
lift boat
NC SERVICES BUYS DOUG’S CRANE
Canada-based NC Services Group, parent company to NCSG Crane &
Heavy Haul Services, has bought out Prince Rupert-based business,
Doug’s Crane, from Broadwater Industries.
“Doug’s Crane has a 29-year history of providing crane and lifting
solutions to its many customers in the Prince Rupert region and we
are thrilled to be partnering with Doug Mackereth and the rest of the
Broadwater management team,” said Ted Redmond, NCSG president.
“We will continue to provide crane services to the Prince Rupert
market and plan to grow our crane and heavy haul fleet.”
Doug Mackereth and owners of Broadwater have taken an equity
interest in NCSG, and will work closely with the company to grow the
crane and heavy haul services business in the Prince Rupert region.
The acquisition takes NCSG’s fleet to nearly 300 cranes, 200 lines of
hydraulic platform trailers, 190 conventional trailers and 65 tractors.
The company operates a network of depot across North America.
World’s largest offshore turbine
Fred Olsen Windcarrier has
completed installation of the
world’s largest offshore wind
turbine for power generation
provider Alstom in France.
The 6 MW Haliade 150
turbine has a 150 metre
diameter rotor, 73.5 m
blades and a 78 m tower.
Following onshore testing and
commissioning in March 2012
at Le Carnet in France it was
installed 45 km off the Belgian
coast from Ostend harbour at
the Belwind site.
Fred Olsen Windcarrier
specialises in transport and
installation of offshore wind
turbines. For this project it
used its self-elevating wind
turbine installation and crane
vessel, Bold Tern. Built in
2012, the vessel entered service
with Fred Olsen Windcarrier
in February 2013. It has an
open deck area of 3,200 square
metres. Onboard cranes can
load components weighing up
to 800 tonnes and it has a DP2
dynamic positioning system.
The wind turbine stands
100 metres above sea level
and weighs 1,500 tonnes.
The nacelle alone weighs 400
tonnes. It has the capacity
to produce electricity for
5,000 households, an Alstom
spokesperson said. Instead of a
gearbox it uses a direct drive.
Alfonso Faubel, Alstom
Wind senior vice president,
said, “The installation of our
turbine, which is simple, robust
and efficient, contributes in
boosting the competitiveness of
offshore wind energy.”
Asiagroup Leasing’s Terex
AC 1000 in Singapore is the first
unit of its type in Asia
