Enerpac adds weight to shipping project

Prior to being shipped to India, the transformer was weighed by Machinery Movers to check the load was under the 110t shipping weight limits at Northland Port in New Zealand.

If the cargo exceeded the limit, a specialised ship would be required, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, said Neville Stuart at Enerpac.

The company supplied a hydraulic 12-point lifting, shifting and weighing system to Machinery Movers for the project.

The system replaces manual control of hydraulic heavy lifting with PLC control of multiple hydraulic cylinders, offering accuracy, safety and efficiency benefits.

An integrated human machine interface (HMI) manages all of the system's movements from a central control station, which displays live operation status updates for each lifting position.

"Because Enerpac works with companies lifting huge loads including buildings and tunneling machines, we knew that the new Enerpac EVO synchronous lifting system currently in New Zealand would do the job," said Stuart.

"Quite often, as in maritime construction and shipping operations, you have to get an exact idea of the weight at each lifting point as well as the total weight so as to get an even spread of power and precise totals.

"In the case of the transformer weighing, I was asked to assist Machinery Movers' expert team in operating the precision lift over the weekend, which went very smoothly. After five weighs, we were able to certify an average weight of 109.4t, which enabled the transformer to be shipped off on its was to the customer in India. The manufacturer was very happy."

Enerpac's systems have also been applied to bridges, tunnels, buildings, and have been used in Australasia to position drilling rigs, wharf cranes and, using the related SyncHoist technology, the precast concrete girders used in the $72m Brisbane Riverwalk project.