Osprey Group has been in existence for 28 years. It is family-owned, now into its second generation. Pete Fletcher, director, and Nigel Fletcher, the chief executive officer, inherited the business from their father who founded Osprey.
The company has an impressive range of its own lifting and moving equipment. Included in that are some of the UK’s most capable heavy-lift cranes including LG1750, LTM1800 and LG1550 mobiles from Liebherr, hydraulic lifting and skidding systems, cable spooling carousels, and specialist heavy-asset transport options – including one of the largest fleets of SPMTs in the UK. The largest fleet of UK-registered barges is also part of Osprey’s inventory; some are ocean-going, some are inland. What they have not had, until now, is any crawler cranes…
As a company Osprey has been responsible for some remarkable and iconic lifts. The Tintagel footbridge at, what is (in legend at least), the site of King Arthur’s castle of Camelot on a rugged Cornwall clifftop won the Royal Fine Art Commission Trust's 2022 Building Beauty Award. English Heritage commissioned the bridge; it was Osprey, who supported American Bridge, to set it in place.
It moved the largest steam turbine in the world for the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station that's currently under construction.
It also received, transported, and installed the world’s largest offshore wind turbine – the 720-tonne Haliade-X 12MW – onto its testing bed at Blyth, UK, manoeuvring it with pinpoint precision.
And now Osprey is buying a crawler crane. Or, to be more exact, two crawler cranes. One is a Demag CC2400-1, the other, also from Demag, a CC3800-1. These are huge machines. The CC2400-1 can lift 400 tonnes and was despatched to its first project in December 2022.
The CC3800-1 is due to arrive in February, and with 650 tonnes of capacity can lift half as much again as its companion. Osprey may be a recent crawler owner but it is not starting small!
“We’re not a crane company,” says Simon Massey, managing director of the Heavy Lift division, “but we are a business that believes in having the right inventory on hand, and in knowing that kit inside out and back-to-front, so we can use it to our clients’ advantage.”
In July 2022 Osprey also bought a Liebherr 1200 mobile crane and has made a significant investment in buying even more SPMTs to add to its current fleet. And then there’s the Enerpac JS250 jacking system, to be delivered in the first quarter of this year, which can lift several hundred tonnes.
“We are not a heavy lift company either,” says Massey. So, what exactly, then, is Osprey? Massey smiles. “What we are is what we do. We are in the quality, engineeredsolutions market,” he says.
And where would two large crawlers fit into that? “We’re not intending to become a major crane hire company,” explains Massey. “We are project-based and the expansion into crawler cranes has been driven by projects that are in the pipeline – mainly in civils infrastructure and energy.”
GREATER FLEXIBILITY
“We already add value in those sectors,” Massey continues, “enabling project teams to view their critical asset movements a slightly different way; I see the crawlers giving us even more flexibility in that regard.”
These are not just crawlers. As we’ve said, they are very big crawlers. Massey joined Osprey in July 2022 but has 35 years in the industry under his belt. “Before Osprey I have had a lot of experience with heavy crawler cranes, so I’ve got expertise in the big ones, and I know the benefits of them.
“That’s why we've gone for the bigger stuff. We’re not chasing the small crawler business. That is an oversaturated market, and we are not out to join it.”
So, on what sort of projects will these crawlers find their application? “Where we excel is in bringing our cross-sector experience to the table. We’re aiming for low carbon projects – nuclear and renewables – that need to deliver on time, potentially in a challenging environment, with a view to incorporating innovation in the short-term that delivers benefits long term.
“Wind farms are well within our skill set and our aims. We choose cranes that meet a high spec with those aims in mind. For example, we bought the new CC-3800 complete with the wind farm kit that goes with it. With that we can lift the large turbines to the heights that are needed.
“And generally, there is no point in buying a large crane without all the accompanying bells and whistles, like super lifts and that kind of thing. We wanted complete cranes to optimise our potential utilisation of this equipment.
“For that reason, with the CC3800 we made sure it is the latest generation, that it has Tier V engines that comply with the emission controls we’re now seeing on a lot of projects. That way, we can be sure of helping clients meet their aims, but also of building longevity into our investment. These machines will be used all over the country, and potentially in Europe as well.
“It is not so much that these cranes will let us carry out our existing projects more efficiently, that goes without saying. The tasks these big crawlers will work on represent an expansion of our business. It is part of a general expansion of the Osprey Heavy Lift Division business unit. All our inventory is owned by Osprey and we have a business model that lets us expand in specific directions. Nigel and Pete want to grow the business to reflect the changes we’re seeing in superscale infrastructure rollouts and renewables; there’s a huge focus on finding better ways of working together that will really deliver on sustainability – in nuclear, and elsewhere. That’s why we’re expanding as a team, we’re helping the business to grow and supporting other activities within the Group.”
Transporting large cranes like these is no simple operation. Did Osprey need to buy equipment for that also?
“We have expertise in moving large cranes already because we already own several large lattice boom cranes that are very similar in size. So, the skill sets to transport these machines around the UK and further afield are already within the business.
“We have the Liebherr LG1750, which is probably one of the largest mobile cranes in the country, and an LG1550, which again is a very large lattice boom machine. The operational and logistical elements of those are not dissimilar to the large crawler cranes. So that’s why the crawlers are a nice fit within the skills and the operating practices that we have already. It is a natural extension.”
QUALITY OVER VOLUME
Will there be more of them in the Osprey fleet? “Yes. We are planning to invest further in the fleet over the next 12 months and beyond.
“That expansion will be projectbased and again will depend on what we see in the pipeline. There are other plans for significant expansion too, over the next five years, but as I said that is not with a view to become a major crane hire company; we want instead to be a major engineered lifting company. It is about quality and approach to solutions, not volume.
“The way we work offers immense value to larger infrastructure projects – and there are several of those on the horizon. We already have machines on most of the major infrastructure projects in the UK anyway, and contracts secured on others. Currently we are working on HS2 (High Speed Rail 2), and at Hinkley Point C.”
“We're a Tier One supplier to Hinkley,” says Helen Batt, Osprey’s marketing manager. “Thanks to Osprey’s marine heritage, we are also an Importer of Record for Hinkley; one of Europe's largest construction sites. Loading, unloading and, shifting the heaviest of cargoes in and around ports to destinations onshore and offshore is in the company’s blood.”
“If you look back at the past 24 months in the UK we have loadedout the world's largest tidal turbine using SPMTs. We have received and delivered the world's largest steam turbine, for Hinkley Point C. And we are working on some of the world's largest construction sites. We have our LG1750 out in Sweden at the minute, helping to construct windfarms. There are a fair number of renewable gigawatts we've helped to build already.”
ASSET OWNERS
“Our record shows that we’re already one of the UK's leading innovators in heavy lifts,” continues Massey, “but what differentiates us is that we are UK-owned, UKbased and, fundamentally, we’re asset owners. We own our cranes, and that makes a difference.” That is very far from universal. “With us, it is not a case of we take on a job and then set about leasing the cranes from someone to carry it out. We actually own the asset, so we are in control of it, and that means we can offer certainty of delivery. We pride ourselves on that.
“We are not reinventing the wheel with crawler cranes. Yes, they are an addition to our fleet, but cranes like this have been in the country for years. Where we are pushing the envelope is we’re supplying a full package: with the crawler cranes we are offering a lot more in the way of engineering, and projectshaping solutions than some other companies in this sector.
“Anyone who knows this business will usually think about our European competitors, the Mammoet's and Sarens of this world. But this extra capability, combined with owned-inventory and the ability to be so flexible – well, that means we do have a niche. And it’s growing, all the time.”
Are we looking then at a new Mammoet or Sarens in the making? “Not exactly,” says Helen Batt. “We’re different. We’re not trying to compete with Mammoet or Sarens on size or in footprint. Most of our project base is in the UK and Europe at the moment, though our barges operate worldwide. Where we do believe we can offer a great service is in fully engineered, fully project managed, complex, critical infrastructure logistics solutions, where we often work with our clients’ teams for 18 months or more to manage every aspect of a particular lift, install or move.”
FULL FLEXIBILITY
Osprey handles offshore as well as onshore lifts. “We have a unique land and sea heritage, and our marine experience is a real asset,” outlines Batt. “It’s enabled us to specialise, too. We have our own cable carousel, we offer cable storage, and – one way or another – we’ve delivered every single component needed to build offshore windfarms.
“Plus, we’ve got a traditional port agency that’s kept very busy helping clients to negotiate changes in ways of working. Then, of course, there are the barges.
“All of this kit and the new additions – the crawlers, the SPMTs, the jacking systems – this gives us flexibility we can share.” But it is not all about the kit; it is not even mainly about the kit. “It’s about the people,” says Massey. “It really is key. It’s trust, and it’s training: Osprey has invested thousands if not hundreds of thousands in training and personal development. Our investment in health and safety personnel is on a constant growth pattern as well. It’s the full package we’re investing in, not just the equipment.”
“It gives us a unique return on investment,” explains Batt, “which we can pass straight on to our clients. Everyone who works for Osprey knows, there’s no set way for us to solve a problem. What we do is bring the right people together and say ‘What are all the ways we can find a solution for this?’ So, a client may come with a fixed idea about how a lift or movement should happen, and we may be able to do exactly as they ask, or we may be able to produce alternatives that keep the schedule running to time or even speed it up, to give the client precious hours back to their schedule.”
ABOVE AND BEYOND
Being focussed on the service offering Osprey can provide to clients is a big driver for the firm. “We make sure we go above and beyond with everything we do,” says Massey. “And that comes back to the family values of the two brothers who own Osprey, Nigel and Pete. The company was their father’s creation, and they want to be proud of their legacy.
“We started operations with marine logistics and, after listening to our clients' needs, we incorporated engineered, project managed, complex heavy lifting solutions into our offering.
“Last year we delivered a project in Liverpool – on the Mersey Ferry – that involved all of our teams working together. It’s another way we add value. We have a team of brilliant individuals that come together to deliver really great solutions and we look at how to achieve that in a completely different way.
“It's reassuring that our growth has been organic and will stay that way, based on listening to clients and working with them. We’re making sure we can deliver what clients and partners need, now and in the future.”
And if that should mean more crawler cranes, whether large or small, then doubtless more heavy lifting equipment will enter Osprey’s fleet.
Sennebogen shows 653 E Electro Battery
Sennebogen showed its first battery-powered telescopic crawler crane, the 653 E Electro Battery, at Bauma 2023. The crane was developed in collaboration with Dutch dealer Van den Heuvel and is the fi rst battery-powered telescopic crawler crane in the range.
The 50 tonne capacity crane has a 130 kW electric motor installed instead of the diesel engine. It is fed by a lithium-ion battery in the superstructure.
The high-quality, liquid-cooled battery system, which Sennebogen says is particularly durable and has already proven itself under tough conditions on and offroad, has a capacity of 210 kWh and is connected to an intelligent battery management system (BMS).
Depending on the type of operation, the crane works for up to 14 hours on battery power. For charging the machine can be connected to a standardised 32 A CEE industrial socket. A built-in 22kW onboard charger means there is no need to invest in additional charging stations. The integrated power electronics are designed to ensure smooth motor start-up and mains-friendly operation.
PV-E Crane shows EC80 electric crane
Dutch manufacturer PV-E Crane showed its new 80 tonne capacity EC80 battery-electric lattice boom crawler crane at the Bauma 2022 trade fair.
The crane had already been bought by Dutch contractor Heymans.
With a 37-metre lattice boom the EC80 can be used for lifting as well as foundation projects.This model is equipped with a tilting cabin, an overpressure system, a third winch in the bottom boom section for a vibratory hammer, platforms on both sides of the upper structure, folding railings, an ergonomic chair, a 360° camera system, a central counterweight, a toolbox on undercarriage, and extra working lights.
Kuwait contractor NBTC orders Tadano CC 88.1600-1
Kuwait-based EPC contractor NBTC, part of the KGA Group, has ordered a 1,600 tonne capacity Tadano CC 88.1600-1 crawler crane. The company ordered the crane to in order to take care of an upcoming largescale project. The company will also use the new crane for various infrastructure and oil projects throughout the Middle East, for in-house projects as well as for external clients.
Mammoet strengthens ITs position in the Brazilian wind market
Mammoet, the world’s largest engineered heavy lifting and transport service provider, introduced a Tadano CC 38.650 crawler crane to its fleet in Brazil in the third quarter of 2022.
The new crane will be used specifi cally for concrete wind tower erection, with boom lengths ranging from 105 to 129m (344 – 423ft.).
This addition will strengthen Mammoet’s position in the local wind market, which is one of the fastest growing in South America thanks to government investment.
The new generation of wind turbines now debuting in Brazil is getting larger and heavier, says Mammoet, as developers increase the use of concrete sections in hybrid towers. These concrete tower sections, which are poured on site, can be two to three times heavier than their steel counterparts.
This means crawler cranes are used more frequently for projects with concrete towers, so that the sections can be lifted and tracked across the hardstand into their fi nal installation positions. The increase in component weight also means developers can fi nd themselves choosing from a smaller pool of lifting equipment, as cranes in the 600t-750t capacity range are often already at work in other sectors.
The crane is currently on site to complete its first tasks at the Cajuina Wind Farm in Angicos region, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. The Cajuina Wind Farm will be comprised of 55 wind turbine generators (WTGs) which will have a total capacity of 314 megawatts.
Sarens buys Boom Booster Kit for its 650 tonne Tadano CC 38.650-1
Wolvertem, Belgium-headquartered heavy lift and transport specialist Sarens has added an 84-metre Boom Booster Kit to its fl eet for its 650 tonne capacity Tadano CC 38.650-1 lattice boom crawler crane. The Boom Booster makes it possible for the CC 38.650-1 to carry out lifts that would normally be the exclusive purview of cranes in the 750-tonne class.
Sarens will use the Boom Booster Kit to erect wind turbines with large hub heights. The fi rst jobs in the Netherlands and Germany are scheduled for next April. The Boom Booster Kit will be delivered in January 2023.
Wasel buys Liebherr crawlers for wind work
In a deal worth 60 million euros (53 million GBP) Bergheim, Rhineland-headquartered heavy logistics provider Wasel, now a subsidiary of the demolition specialist Hagedorn Group, has bought a host of Liebherr cranes including two large crawler cranes: an LR 1700-1.0 and an LR 11000. Wasel plans to use the crawlers to meet the ever-increasing requirements of wind turbine assembly.
The order also includes LTM 1750-9.1, LTC 1050-3.1E, and an LRT 1130-2.1, in addition to other Liebherr machines.
