crane industry news

The International Sign Association’s updated Mobile Crane Operator Safety Certification Training, which begins in January, will offer courses in more than 40 cities throughout 2011. In addition, each training course immediately will be followed by testing conducted by The National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO).

Terex has issued a statement vowing to fight a US patent verdict against a side conveyor on some of its Powerscreen crushing machines. The jury verdict was handed down in an infringement lawsuit brought against Powerscreen International Distribution and owner Terex by Metso Minerals in United States district court for the eastern district of New York.

The Christmas tree at Wakehurst Place, in Southern England is the tallest in the UK at 35 metres. So decorating it can be a real issue. This year rental company Facelift, supplied a 46 and a 61 metre Bronto truck mounted lifts, to carry out the work, which included installing the lights with over 1,800 bulbs.

We now have more details on the Liebherr LR 13000 which lifted a test load of 3,371 tonnes at the end of November – the heaviest load ever been lifted by a Liebherr crane. The crane was fitted with a 60 metre main boom, a 54 metre derrick boom, 400 tonnes of superstructure ballast and 1,500 tonnes of suspended ballast.

A launching crane has collapsed on the Jiaxing-Shaoxing Bridge construction site in China’s Zhejiang Province this morning. Reports say that two people have died and nine others injured in the accident. A statement from the site said that one man died on site while the other was declared dead at the hospital. Of the nine injured, at least one of them is in critical condition.

European tower crane sales and rental company Neremat has expanded into the USA by establishing Neremat Inc. Kyle Lewis from Lewis Equipment has been named president, responsible for growing Neremat’s presence in the USA.

A 55 ton Rough Terrain crane tipped over at the Halifax shipyard in Nova Scotia, Canada earlier today. The 61 year-old operator suffered only minor bruising from the accident. He was though taken to Hospital as a precaution.

Two men working for a tree surgeon were injured yesterday when their lift went over in Dorset, UK. The two men, said to be in their 20s, were airlifted to hospital with serious leg injuries after their spider lift tipped over in the village of Milborne St Andrew.

A 45 metre free standing tower crane went over in Studen in the Canton of Bern in Switzerland last week, injuring three. The crane, a fairly recent WolffKran owned by the Thun based contractor Frutiger, was mounted on a cross base which was sitting on built-up ground, retained by pilings.

Singapore based offshore lifting company Coastline Maritime has mounted a Liebherr MTC 78000 heavy lift offshore crane onboard the heavy load vessel the OSA Sampson. With a total deadweight of roughly 1720t, Liebherr claims the MTC 78000 is one of the biggest offshore top-slewing cranes in world capable of lifting 1600t at 35m.