Features Archive

Canadian Professional Crane
22 January 2015 Canadian Professional Crane is a crane rental company based in Waterdown, Ontario. Owner Aram Malek describes the company’s business.

Smooth runnings
22 January 2015 Amidst the economic instability of the last few years, the rough terrain crane sector has remained steady and largely unaffected by the slowdown, say manufacturers.

Gateway to the east
22 January 2015 Current growth in Turkey is being driven not just by domestic projects, but by the country’s proximity to another burgeoning region, Central Asia. Daniel Searle reports.

Previously in Cranes Today...
22 January 2015 As the industry’s oldest magazine—Cranes Today was first published in 1973—here’s our regular look at our archives to see what was making news this month across the magazine’s four decades

Building a chimney in Bulgaria
22 January 2015 Linden Comansa 21LC290 is being used to construct two chimneys at a sulphuric acid plant in Bulgaria

Western Europe Project round up
24 December 2014 This month we review projects from France, Germany.

Straightpoint’s loadcell weighs offshore wind station
24 December 2014 In this month’s equipment case study, we find out how a 12t-capacity loadcell developed by Straightpoint was used by Larkin Engineering Services to load test the lifting points of a weather station. Over the following pages, we have news and new products from across the lifting equipment sector.

Tangible benefits
24 December 2014 Synthetic materials have long been used in the manufacture of slings and, more recently, pendants—where the weight reduction compared to steel wire reduces logistical demands and installation time. It wasn’t until this year, however, that the first synthetic hoist rope was introduced to the industry. Daniel Searle looks at what this, and other applications of synthetic materials, have to offer.

Christmas tree tradition continues in Portland
24 December 2014 Crane company Ness & Campbell transported and erected a 75ft fir Christmas tree for the city of Portland, Oregon.

As good as it looks?
18 December 2014 The outlook in the UK construction sector appears to be a positive one, with investment in housing, transport and energy projects all increasing—but crane manufacturers and rental companies have different views on the certainty of a full recovery. Daniel Searle reports.

Liebherr crawler completes steep challenge in Alps
18 December 2014 A Liebherr LTR 1060 crawler crane has tackled the 40° gradients of the Swiss Alps to extend a railway tunnel.

Campaign to save centurion crane
13 November 2014 The oldest remaining hammerhead crane in the UK has been identified as one of the ten mostendangered buildings in the country.

Tower of power
13 November 2014 Soaring demand for electricity around the world, particularly in emerging markets, is prompting a boom in power plant construction. As prefabricated concrete sections and other components get bigger, to allow for faster construction, so does the need for high capacity tower cranes. Steve Powney reports

Quake recovery leads the way
13 November 2014 New Zealand’s construction sector is one of its largest and most economically important, employing over 7% of the workforce and growing. It generates around NZ$30bn (US$23.4bn) of gross revenues annually, Chris Webb reports.

Olympic cranes
13 November 2014

Batting below average?
13 November 2014 Australia’s construction sector has failed to hit forecasts as commodity prices have fallen. Chris Webb looks at analysts’ outlook for the sector, and visited CICA to report on the cranes on show.

Untapped market
13 November 2014 Next month, bC India—the Bauma ConExpo International Trade Fair for Construction Machinery, Building Material Machines, Mining Machines and Construction Vehicles—will take place at Delhi, with the show’s organisers targeting the untapped market in the north of India.

Sarens puts its Boom Boosters to work
13 November 2014 Sarens has deployed its two new Terex Boom Boosters to work on energy jobs in the Netherlands and Saudi Arabia.

Barge crawl
29 October 2014 At this year’s ConExpo, Manitowoc pitched its new MLC crawlers with variable positioning counterweight to contractors working from barges. The cranes are entering a competitive marketplace, with both Manitowoc’s existing crawlers and rivals well established for these sorts of jobs. Bernadette Ballantyne looks at the challenges posed by working from barges, and the options available to users.

Big plans, big projects
29 October 2014 Between November 25 to 28, 2014 it will be time for the seventh edition of bauma China, the International Trade Fair for Construction Machinery, Building Material Machines, Construction Vehicles and Equipment, taking place at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC). Despite the current downturn in the Chinese economy, there are still many building projects in the People’s Republic which have an enormous investment value. Here are some examples of these gigantic projects.

From steeplejack to rigger
29 October 2014 George Cossington, who died this August at the age of 81, was born into a family of steeplejacks, and moved into crane rigging, as modular tower cranes became increasingly popular. He described his career, in a time of minimal safety regulations, to London history blog SpitalfieldsLife.com