The first job for the CKE1100 has been on the stabilisation and foundation work for a river diversion project being undertaken by the Gateshead-based Steel Foundations division of Volker-Stevin, for main contractor Fitzpatrick on a GBP 15m warehouse development for Coltham Citadel Ltd. at the Citadel Junction in Bilston, Staffordshire.
The job involves the installation of some 6,000 sq m of 8m-15m long sheet-steel piles in the diversion of Darlaston Brook which runs along the edge of the new site and adjacent to the main A463 Black Country Route, stabilisation of the retained embankment, and foundations for a new access road bridge.
This unit joins five other Kobelco cranes in Q-Plant Hire’s 25-strong crawler crane fleet. Managing director Anthony Quinn said, “We purchased our first Kobelco more than six years ago, and now all of our cranes are modern, hydraulically-operated units. We have been impressed with them in every way: they are not only good value for money, with their robust construction and long life, and in operation they have good lifting duties and excellent manoeuvrability. They are designed for maximum convenience, with features which are extremely important for plant hirers: their easy transportability and self-erecting capability, obviating the need for a support crane.”
Commenting on the current state of the crane rental market in the UK, he added, “There is a continuing healthy demand for crawler cranes, especially for heavy infrastructure projects. Many main contractors have reduced their own plant fleets in recent years, which has further boosted the demand, at a time when the benefits and cost-effectiveness of crawler cranes have been ‘rediscovered’.”
The new CKE1100 was announced initially at Bauma 2007, then shown publicly for the first time at SMOPyC (Zaragoza) in April 2008. It has been designed to fill a gap in the 100t-plus class between existing 90 and 135t models in the Kobelco range, and is configured specially to provide a high degree of flexibility in transportation and easy setting up, combined with strong lift duties, the company said.
A major feature is the extendable crawler track system, said to be unusual in this class. The tracks can be extended and retracted hydraulically from the 3.5m wide fully-retracted position (for transport), to the maximum fully-extended overall working width of 5.3m. The crane can also be transported on the road by taking off the boom, and up to two counterweight sections removed (giving an all-up weight of less than 70t). Maximum width of the upper-structure (for highway transportation) is 3.2m.
The CKE1100 main lattice boom extends from 15.2 to 70.1m, and other boom options include a range of fixed off-set jib extensions, up to a maximum combination of 61m main boom with a 21.3m jib, giving a maximum working radius of 55m, and a maximum hook height of 72m.
Overall weight, fully rigged, is approximately 99t, giving a ground bearing pressure of 92.9 kPa (less than 1 kg/sq.cm), due to the long and wide footprint (on 900mm wide tracks). The main counterweight (34t) is in sections of less than 10t, and can be self-installed.
