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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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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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Ale contracted to lengthen a cruise ship in Palermo, Italy

Ale has been tasked to lengthen the Grimaldi Roma cruise ship in Palermo, Italy. To install the new section, weighing around 2,540 t, Ale deployed skid shoes varying from 500 t – 1,000 t capacity, along with 96 axle lines of SPMT in a configuration of 4 x 2 file 24. The new section was transported by SPMT’s, while the ship cut section, weighing around 10,500 t was skidded across skid tracks so the new section could be installed. The ship originally measured 225 m and once the new section was installed another 30 m was added onto the ship.
Ale has been contracted to lengthen two cruise ships, the Grimaldi Roma and Barcellona. The project started in late 2018 and is expected to be completed by the end of June 2019.

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Ale optimises project costs on steel mill plant in Mexico

The heavy lift specialist Ale was contracted to lift modules, ranging from roof panels to plant modules including several items that were weighing up to 300t each (330 US tons) as a part of a bigger construction project for a new steel mill plant in Silao, located within the northern state of Guanajuato, Mexico. To execute this lifts Ale used a Liebherr LR11350 crawler crane, maximum lift capacity of 1,350 ton, with P boom. According to the heavy lift services provider, by using this configuration, they were able to minimise congestion on site and enable construction work to continue. As the client to continue other work without crane pad interfering, overall project costs and build schedules were optimized.

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Ale increases its Mega Jack 300 fleet

The heavy lift and transport specialist Ale has recently expanded its Mega Jack 300 fleet.  Launched in 2018, the system was designed in-house by Ale’s R&D department for a cost-effective solution to jack-up heavy modules on sites where space is restricted or congested in short periods of time. According to Ale, the latest jacking innovation is a compact and versatile system that enables site optimisation and project efficiency, offering a superior solution to traditional climbing jacks, in a wide variety of applications.

This innovation has already been used to jack-up hundreds of pipe rack modules over 5m high in Kuwait.

The system will be delivered to Ale’s UK branch, expanding the global fleet of the group to over 20 towers.

“We are delighted to have this innovative system operating in the UK. We have secured several civil projects where this system is ideally suited; it will demonstrate the system’s strength and capabilities to optimise project schedules,” said Russ Jones, Director-UK.

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ALE moves a 450t substation support tower in Spain

In Navarra, Spain, ALE has been requested by Nabrawind Technologies to find a bespoke engineering solution in order to heighten the prototype of the Nabralift self-erecting tower, one of the world’s highest wind towers. To move this 160m high and 450t tower, ALE used 12 axle lines of SPMT and 3 strand jack units for the heightening. “By providing this customised solution, our client can now how the means of developing onshore wind farms in the most cost and time effective method ever through possible. This is game-changing technology, specifically for those located on difficult-to-reach islands or mountainous sites. From our findings, we are already developing engineering processes to fulfil the requirements of future large-scale installations with an aim to develop two towers a week,” explained Project Engineer David Arias Blanco.

This project ended in September with ongoing discussions about future use of this prototype and technology. ALE was working alongside the client to develop the methodology used for this prototype for the future production of ind towers from 2019.

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ALE’s Mega Jack 300 performs in Kuwait

As a part of the Al Zafour Refinery Project EPC 2 and 3, Ale is providing onshore heavylifting solution that includes receiving pre-assambled pipe rack modules from barges at the project’s construction dock, where they are transported on SPTs over 4km to a staging area. Once at staging, the modules are raised to various heights using the new Mega Jack 300 system, which has 300t capacity per tower. According to the heavy lift specialist Ale the components of this system are compact and easy to handle on site, meaning that the re-configurations are made in as little time as possible. In addition, the jacking time has been reduced during the development phase, resulting in jack-up operations taking one or two hours.

“It was a proud moment for all of us to utilise this state of the art equipment in the Middle East for the first time. As it is compact and very effective, with high capacity, this opens a lot of opportunities in the region using this innovative technology,” said Binu K.T., Installation Manager for ALE’s Middle East branch.

A total of 188 modules, measuring up to 40m in length and weighing up to 2,100t, will be delivered to site.

 

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Ale transported two « slug catchers » weighing 2008t from Spain to Saudi Arabia

The heavy lift and abnormal transport company Ale announced they carried successfully two « slug catchers » weighing 2008t between Spain and the Fadhili Gas Program Project site in Saudi Arabia. After crossing the Gijon city center and its narrow streets with 32 axle lines of SPMT going to the port, both items were loaded out on a self-propelled barge upon arrival at Jubail Industrial Port. Over there, they had been installed  on 174 axle lines of SPMT in a configuration of 6 file 30 and 6 file 28 for a 90km journey towards Fadhili. Despite some narrow roads and sand encroachment, Ale managed to convey the « slug catchers » to the destination in time. All in all, Ale planned to deliver five « slug catchers » for the Fadhili gas project, which the three remaining will be transported by the end of this year.

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Challenging 2,000km delivery route for Ale in Saudi Arabia

Ale has completed the delivery of two transformers, weighing 75t each, through a 2,000km route to Al Farsha Substation in the south west of Saudi Arabia. The main task of the heavy lifting contractor was to find a feasible solution for transporting the transformers to the power station as the route had never been attempted before. Ale has been the first company to provide the client with a solution, previous attempts had been made by other companies, but was deemed infeasible and only reached Baish, 700km from Jeddah. The final route selected presented many different challenges, such as traversing across 13 cities and towns, climbing to a high-altitude height of 2,500m, descending 1,500m downhill through mountainous passes, negotiating 21 tunnels, performing civil works and working in unpredictable bad weather conditions. Ale has completed this task within eleven days.

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ALE succeeds in lifting and load-out of 4 suction anchors in Egypt

ALE has recently completed the lifting and load-our of four suction anchors for the Zohr gas project, located in the Egyptian sector of the Mediterranean Sea.

The various manoeuvres took place in the Port of Alexandria where the four suction anchors were stored near the dock. Each of the columns had different weights and dimensions, ranging from 185t to 220t. The anchor parts were moved using a crawler crane with 850t capacity and a radius of up to 30m. In addition to these pieces, ALE has loaded-out other less imposing pieces such as a 65t circular hub and a 95t rectangular ladder piece. The ALE team completed the installation of all parts safely and within the deadline set by the client.