crane industry news

Palfinger, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, has introduced two new 20-metric-ton class models, the PK 23502 and the PK 26002-EH. The PK 23502 knuckleboom crane, capable of tilting upwards 15° degrees (Power Link Plus), enables maximum movement geometry and broadens the type of work the crane can do.

A 60 tonne mobile crane overturned while lifting a large sign at a station in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Saturday.

While the incident closed the station for several hours while the crane was recovered and damage repaired, no one was injured.

Four Liebherr duty cycle crawler cranes, type HS 895 HD, HS 885 HD and two HS 855 HD with hydrofraise, are hard at work in Seattle on Contract U220. Contract U220 is part of the University Link project, a 3.15-mile light rail extension between Downtown Seattle and the University of Washington.

A lattice crane boom came down across two or three parked cars in Fayetteville, North Carolina yesterday. The 110 ton crawler crane, owned by Buckner Heavylift Cranes of Graham, North Carolina, was rented to LeChase Construction Services and was working on the town’s multi storey car park, lifting steel beams, when the accident occurred.

A lattice crane boom came crashing down across a busy road in the centre of Abu Dhabi, UAE this morning blocking traffic for several hours. Local reports say that the crane was working on a demolition site, using a demolition ball, although this has not been fully confirmed.

A fatal crane accident at BHP Billiton’s iron ore operations at Port Hedland in Western Australia’s Pilbara region has suspended operations at the facility while an investigation is carried out.

Heavy haulers have had to invest in new equipment to haul wind components due to their increasing weights and heights. Permitting and regulatory issues continue to complicate matters. Jeff Hampton reports. Transporters of wind energy components are juggling the challenges of carrying ever-larger loads and maneuvering the continued tangle of permits.

With all the reports of wind turbine installations we could not resist publishing a report on a more traditional windmill erection job. The Zeldenrust Windmill in the Dutch town of Dokkum is an octagonal ‘stellingmolen’ or Smock and cap stage mill, with four pairs of stones two for wheat and two for producing pearl barley.

Linden Comansa’s LCL Series of luffing jib cranes will be completed in September, with the launch of a fourth model, the LCL 165. In just more than a year, the Spanish manufacturer has completely renewed its range of luffers. The LCL 190 crane was presented at Bauma 2010, while the LCL 280 and LCL 310 were launched in March 2011.

IPAF welcomes the position paper issued by the FEM Product Group for Cranes and Lifting Equipment, which states that cranes should not be used for lifting people, except in exceptional circumstances where safety requirements have been fulfilled and undertaken at the specific responsibility of the user.