boom trucks tend to be the favoured
solution. This is especially true throughout
the USA. Jim Glazer, Elliott Equipment
Company president says, “We have seen
a big demand for our longer boom Elliott
cranes with tip heights from 56 to
64 m and capacities of 36 tons [32 tonnes]
and above. These have primarily been
used in utility transmission construction
applications throughout North America.
We have also seen strong demand for our
45 ton [40 tonne] and 18 ton [16 tonne]
cranes in oilfield service applications,
primarily in Texas and California.”
Demands for 40 tonne capacity truck
cranes are also strong in other parts of
the world. An SQ16ZK4Q truck mounted
crane manufactured by XCMG, for
example, has been working at a thermal
power project in Cambodia. The site is the
largest complex of sugarcane, ethanol and
thermal power plants in Cambodia. The
truck crane, from XCMG’s SQ series, has
a maximum load moment of 40 tonne-
metres and a lifting capacity of 16 tonnes.
Projects
As the number of energy projects
undergoing construction continues to
grow, the demand for lift service providers
also increases. Kate Lampson has seen
a growing demand for lifting services
throughout the energy project industry,
“We are in demand for projects including
power plant construction, refinery work,
wind tower erection, nuclear power plant
construction, bridge work, solar panel
installations and the construction of liquid
natural gas plants.”
The increasing work has also had an
effect on rental companies. Mumbai,
India-based rental company, The Bhoir
Group, for example, has taken delivery of
its fourth Liebherr LR 1300 crawler crane
in less than 18 months. Two of the
300 tonne capacity lattice cranes are
working on the Koradi Thermal Power
Station expansion project close to Nagpur
in Maharashtra, India, which is one of
four major power stations in the region.
Its capacity is 1,080 MW from seven coal-
fired boilers that were installed more than
25 years ago. For the project the two
LR 1300s will help install three new
660 MW thermal boilers, doubling
the generating capacity. Installation
of the boilers started in May 2011 and
completion is by the end of 2014; the
first boiler will be commissioned at the
end of 2013. Larsen & Toubro Power, the
main contractor for the project, rented
the two Liebherr LR 1300s for the lifting
operations. The crawler has a main boom
of up to 98 m and a maximum
113 m luffing jib allowing a maximum
height of 172 m (59 m main boom + 113
m luffing jib).
Flexibility is an important feature
for companies renting out cranes and
equipment for use in the energy sector,
as Jim Glazer points out, “Most of the
A Liebherr LR 1300 crawler crane at the Koradi
Thermal Power Station expansion project close
to Nagpur in Maharashtra, India
INTERNATIONAL AND SPECIALIZED TRANSPORT
■
JULY 2013
39
ENERGY SECTOR
>
