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Heliox wins charger infrastructure contract in Germany

ESWE Verkehr Wiesbaden, a German fleet-building project for 56 Mercedes-Benz eCitaro electric buses, has selected the fleet charging specialist Heliox to provide the charging infrastructure as well as the electrical installation and medium voltage grid connection. The contract covers full installation and service: charging stations, medium voltage connection and a full service and maintenance contract. The Heliox charging infrastructure will be compatible with the Fleet management system used, which facilitates monitoring of buses and the charging infrastructure in order to enable smart charge management. The construction will begin at the end of the year with first chargers ready in 2020. The charging infrastructure will be fully operational by 2021.

“We are delighted that the close cooperation with ” Daimler Buses ” is paying off. And we are fortunate to be able to work together with partners who are doing their utmost to make this possible. From Heliox point of view, we are looking forward to make the implementation work and will further proof the cost effectiveness of the Overnight Charging Solution, “said Koen van Haperen, Director Strategic Accounts at Heliox.

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Sarens installs two 1600t bridges in Belgium

Sarens recently completed the installation of two new bridges across the Kieldrecht Lock (Belgium). This lock, also called the Deurganckdok lock, is the largest in the world since its opening in 2016, and allows access to the Port of Antwerp. In order to transport and install the two elements Sarens used the barge “Caroline”. Thanks to this method, the lock was blocked only a minimum of time. Each of the two bridges measured 100m long by 15m wide and weighed 1600t. Dimensions that limited the working space on the barge. However, it took several manoeuvres to rotate the two bridges while they were on the barge. Finally, the strict tidal restriction for one bridge was also a crucial factor. The Sarens team used its CS1000 jacking system, steelworks, and SPMTs as well as the barge and various related marine equipment. Thanks to the careful planning and execution of the different stages, Sarens was able to successfully transport and position the bridges across the Kieldrecht Lock on time.

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ALE installs new turbine and generator at a power plant in Egypt

ALE has recently completed the swift installation of a turbine and generator at the Supercritical Power Plant in Assiut, Egypt. To install the steam turbine, weighing 240t and measuring 8m long, ALE used a gantry and 200t capacity strand jacks to lift the turbine 16m from the ground. As the entrance to the building was perpendicular to the installation location, the turbine needed to be turned by 90°. This was performed using skidding beams and the gantry was then skidded over the installation location, where the turbine was lowered into position on its bench. These manoeuvres were repeated for the installation of the stator generator, weighing 296t and measuring 10m long.

This operation was completed as part of a series of upgrades at the power plant that will help to contribute to Egypt’s drive for sustainable urban development and economic growth.

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IDP distributes over 35 Potain tower cranes for a new city in Egypt

More than 35 Potain tower cranes are currently being used on the construction site of the new El Alamein city on Egypt’s northern coast. The on-site Potain cranes fleet includes MCT 85, MCT 205, MC 235 C and MC 310 K12 models. All these machines have been delivered by International Development Programmes (IDP), distributor of Potain cranes in Egypt for the past 44 years. The cranes started arriving on site in 2018 and are expected to stay there for at least 5 years.

The two most popular cranes on the job site are the MCT 85 and MCT 205 topless models. The first one has a maximum jib length of 52 m and a tip load of 1.1 t. It has a maximum capacity of 5 t. The MCT 205 is a topless crane with a maximum capacity of 10 t and it can lift 1.75 t at its maximum jib end of 65 m. Once completed, the new city will be able to accommodate 3 million people over an are of 21,000 hectares.

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Instant UpRight launches range of low-level powered access platforms

Irish scaffold tower manufacturer Instant UpRight is launching a range of low-level electric-powered access platforms. This machine range, dedicated to the European and Asian markets, is produced in conjunction with a Chinese manufacturing partner. Instant UpRight’s new range includes the 6m MX1330 push-around scissor lift, 6.4m MX1430 self-propelled electric mini scissor lift, 7.8m MX1930 self-propelled electric lift, 10m X2632 self-propelled electric scissor lift and the 12m ML3330 push-around mast lift.

Joe Oxley, Group Managing Director for Instant UpRight said: “Initial interest in the new machine range has been high and we have already delivered the first few units which are out working and showing great results. The company is no stranger to the AWP market and there is still a strong brand awareness present – the return of Instant UpRight blue machines presents us with an exciting challenge which is welcomed by the whole IU team.”

The company will introduce the new line from July and will be supplied from its recently opened European warehouse and distribution hub located in Venlo, the Netherlands.

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Mammoet and ALE confirm advanced purchase discussions

Mammoet and ALE have announced that the two companies are currently negotiating a purchase agreement, under which the Netherlands-based international heavy lift specialist Mammoet would acquire the UK-based rival.

Mammoet stated: “Should these discussions result in a signed agreement, the companies will seek approval from the relevant competition authorities. In the meantime, the companies will continue to act independently of each other, as competitors.”

At this point, Mammoet and ALE wish to refrain from publishing more details about their acquisition talks.

Mammoet is owned by SHV, a privately held Dutch investment company and employs around 5,000 people worldwide. The company has a fleet of SPMT’s totaling more than 3200 axle lines including over 1200 cranes with a maximum capacity of up to 5000t.

ALE is a private company headquartered in the UK with more than 40 offices worldwide, employing over 1,350 people. The heavy lift specialist has a fleet of over 100 cranes including large capacity based cranes as the AL.SK190 and the AL.SK350.

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SMIE takes crane automation technology a step further

SMIE, manufacturer of anti-collision systems for tower cranes has taken further the crane automation technology. Using their remote 4G system they have been able to connect a Pro-SITE installed tower crane to their simulator system based 300km away. This adaptation requires no hardware modifications to the crane only a viable 3G or 4G connection. Where this is not possible, a WIFI connected system with direct internet connection can be used instead.

Nick Palfrey, Chief Marketing Officer said “For us, this is once again a conceptual exercise in how we as a technology provider can push the envelope. Whilst the technology works and is entirely useable, we are not presenting this as a solution we expect our customers to adopt today. In our view, this is part of a wider set of solutions that we are creating to make jobsites smarter.

Vincent Brach, Technical Director and Industry Expert added “we are achieving transfer rates of less than 100 milliseconds which is substantial and well below the levels of what is required to remotely control a crane. We added a safety feature to put the crane into a safety mode if this margin went above 100 milliseconds.”

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Goldhofer axle lines for Taiwan

Logistics service provider Sea & Land Integrated Corp., headquartered in New Taipei City in Taiwan, has opted for 28 PST/SL-E axle lines from Goldhofer in addition to its 94 Goldhofer PST and THP axle lines.

“For more than twenty years the Heavy Machine Division of Sea & Land Integrated Corp. has placed its trust in our transport solutions,” said Jean-Philippe Martin, Regional Director of Sales at Goldhofer. “Goldhofer’s versatile and flexibly combinable components enable customers to create tailored vehicle configurations for the most diverse haulage operations.”

“In view of the continuing high level of demand for construction site logistics, we have decided to order additional vehicles from Goldhofer for handling ultra-heavy loads,” explained Charlie Chien, Vice President Sea & Land Integrated Corp.

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Kalmar wins contract to supply Antwerp Euroterminal NV

This order involves the delivery of 6 forklifts of varying specifications, including one fully electric model. A Kalmar Complete Care service contract for all the machines has also been added to the order. The delivery is scheduled to be fully completed in the fourth quarter of this year. The largest multipurpose terminal in Europe, the Antwerp Euroterminal NV (AET) is already home to a fleet of nearly 20 Kalmar forklifts with lifting capacities ranging from 12 and 37 tons.

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South African wind project for Sogea-Satom

Sogea-Satom (Vinci Construction International Network) is currently working on a wind farm project in Somerset East (South Africa) with its partner Stefanutti Stocks, a South African local construction company. This wind farm is one of 24 renewable energy projects launched by the South African government in 2018. The teams will supply all of the components needed for 799 20-metre long concrete segments, which will be used to build 47 wind turbines towers, each 100m high. At the end of the work, planned to last 32 weeks, the wind farm of Somerset East will produce 141 MW.