Caqital Equipment News October 2018

MATERIALS HANDLING NEWS

COMANSA cranes for Nigerian residential complex

Contractor ITB Nigeria is using six COMANSA cranes for the construction of the Azuri Peninsula apartments, developed by Eko Development Company in a brand new city on reclaimed land in Lagos. Of the entire Eko Atlantic project, a spectacular business and residential city under construction on an artificial peninsula in Lagos, the Financial Capital of Nigeria, the keys to the 244 luxury apartments of the Azuri Penisnula complex will be among the first to be handed over. The State of Lagos and the Chagoury Group are leading this ambitious project that will allow Africa’s most populated country to gain around 10 m² of land that was lost to the Atlantic Ocean, hoping to create an important business hub for the entire continent. Azuri Peninsula is being built at the Marina District, one of the new 10 districts of the city and the one that will concentrate most on its leisure opportunities. There are six COMANSA cranes working at the project, all of which belong to the turnkey contractor, ITB Nigeria FZE. The machines, all with flat-top design and maximum load capacity of 18 and 20 t, are taking on the construction of the three towers of more than 140 m in height and up to 32 floors. Among the six cranes, two are model

21LC550, one is a 21LC335 and the remaining three are 21LC290 models. All of them were erected initially with low heights, but the team from ITB Nigeria used the hydraulic jacking cages in different occasions to jack-up the machines as the buildings were growing taller. The cranes are now working at their maximum height, up to 163,5 m. All COMANSA cranes at the Azuri

• Working at maximum height of 163,5 m

All six COMANSA cranes have flat-top design and maximum load capacity of 18 and 20 t.

Peninsula project are equipped with the Effi- Plus system, which increases the hoisting speeds with light loads. “Due to the height of the buildings, it is essential to rely on cranes with high hoist speeds,” says Paul Kattar, Tower Crane Manager at ITB Nigeria. “The work cycles of the COMANSA cranes on site are very short, which increases the productivity, and helps us to also shorten work times.” “Johnson Crane Hire is a home grown South African business, and like the big five we are firmly rooted in Africa,” says Peter Yaman, sales executive at Johnson Crane Hire. “Just as the big five have adapted to their natural environment, so have we succeeded in adapting to our economic environment, which is not always easy.” Yaman describes the company’s LR 750-t crawler crane as the elephant in the fleet. “This is a brute of a crane, with the ability to lift over 100 African elephants at once – with each of these great beasts weighing 5 t or more.” Next in line is the LR 600 crawler crane, displaying the toughness of a buffalo. He notes that the buffalo is also the ultimate herd animal, reflecting the company’s focus on teamwork to get every job successfully and safely accomplished. “The rhino is the creature that comes to mind when talking about our powerful Kobelco 400 t crawler crane. “It shares the attributes of ruggedness, durability and stability.” At the same time, he notes, heavy lifting also requires speed, precision and agility – qualities that make

COMANSA’s PowerLift System, which improves the load diagram of the crane by 10%, was significantly used as well. “The podium of the building is formed mainly by precast elements from 6 to 8 t and concrete beams of different sizes with maximum weights up to 13 t. For its construction, the PowerLift System had to assist us many times in certain operations in which we required a 10% extra capacity,” says Kattar. b the LTM 750 t hydraulic mobile crane comparable to the leopard. Last but certainly not least is Johnson Crane Hire’s LG 750 t lattice boom crane, which Yaman compares to the lion – king of the Jungle and a force of nature and leadership. “Leadership in safety and in lifting is what we are passionate about, being driven to attain ‘SMART’ lifting – through safety, maintenance, availability, reliability and total cost effectiveness – as our brand promise,” he says. “Of course, we also have our zebras and impalas in the form of our 20 t and 30 t cranes, as well as our access platforms.” Ranked among the top crane hire companies in the world, Johnson Crane Hire operates the largest mobile crane fleet in Africa, with strategically located operations to ensure quick delivery and ongoing support to customers. Outside of South Africa, it is actively engaged in several African countries including Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Swaziland, Namibia and Zambia. b

Johnson Crane Hire rolls out its own ‘big five’

Johnson Crane Hire’s 600 t lattice boom crawler crane towering over the 275 t.

Customers of Africa’s lifting leader Johnson Crane Hire were recently treated to an impressive display of a selection of the company’s lifting equipment at an open day where its heavy lift fleet was likened to the ‘big five’ of the wild.

CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS OCTOBER 2018 44