At a steel yard in Vallese di Oppeano, Italy, two specially adapted Potain tower cranes, an MD 1100 and an MD 1600, are being used to load steel slabs. The slabs, weighing between from 15 to 50 tonnes, will be loaded onto trucks in the yard. Potain crane distributor Techind and Manitowoc’s Lift Solutions department supplied the cranes to the industrial plant and steel yard management company, Ecoenergy. The company is responsible for internal and external logistics at the steel yard, which is owned by one of Russia’s largest steel companies.
The cranes were assembled to heights of 11 meters, and they were configured with 31 meters of jib and mounted on a fixed-angle base. The MD 1100 has a maximum capacity of 60 tonnes at a 14.3-meter radius. The maximum tip load is 23 tonnes at 31 meters. It is being used to lift large steel slabs ranging from 15 t to 20 t.
The MD 1600 has a maximum capacity of 60 tonnes, which it can handle out to 30 meters. Its tip load 57.7 tonnes at 31 meters. This crane is lifting smaller-but-heavier steel slabs that weigh 50 tonnes each. Instead of listing with their hooks, the tower cranes have been fitted with a steel cross-beam to hold magnets that pick the steel slabs.
The MD 1100 arrived on site at the end of March 2016, followed by the MD 1600 in January 2017. Both will remain at the steel yard for the next 10 years. The cranes have been rigorously designed and tested to ensure they are capable of handling a hefty work schedule of 36,000 cycles a year, with operations at the yard running six days a week.
Manitowoc Lift Solutions is using custom software to provide Ecoenergy with data about the cranes, including the working hours for each hoist; number of working cycles; average load lifted; the geo position of the jib and trolley; and more. Ecoenergy is using the information to refine its material-handling program to take account of the varying dimensions and weight of loads leaving the yard.
Export sales and key account manager at Manitowoc, Sabino Riefoli said: “This is a new approach for a project in the industrial field, and for cranes as big as the MD 1100 and the MD 1600, which are normally found on construction projects. But it’s great to see another example of our sales teams and Lift Solutions department meeting the needs of customers when faced with challenging projects.”
