LIFTING
CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS
MAY 2014
20
G
M Technical Services (GMTS) recently completed a
contract for Illovo Sugar, at its new 51,000 m
2
warehouse
in Pietermaritzburg. The facility has been fitted with six
high specification cranes, each of 16 tonnes (2x8) safe working
load (SWL) and able to transport up to ten, one tonne bulk bags
in a single movement. The cranes were manufactured at GMT’s
Vereeniging plant with hoists and other equipment from Street
Crane Company in the UK.
An initiative between Illovo and developer Collins Property
Group, the new warehouse is a major investment. Day to
day operation of the facility will be outsourced to Barloworld
Logistics.”The project will produce substantial efficiency gains
in the sugar supply chain,” explains Dave Howells, Managing
Director of Illovo Sugar South Africa. Up to 170,000 tons of
sugar will be stored at any one time.
The warehouse is divided into three zones of which six bays within
the three zones incorporate double girder cranes of 30.72 metre
span fabricated by GMTS with control cabins, link beams, lifting
beams, access walkways and bogies. Hoists and other key equipment
were custom built for the project by Street Crane Company in the
UK, GMTS’s technical partners. Product is also stored on pallets in
racks in a dedicated zone of the warehouse with access by forklift
trucks. Street Crane supplied 12, eight-ton (4+4 tonnes) custom
built VX heavy duty vertical lifts. Each hoist is reeved for two point
hook lift with rope reeving arranged back onto a single hoist drum
ensuring synchronised hook movement. The closed hoop hoist
variable frequency further ensures complete synchronisation of the
twin hoists on each crane.
The VX is a true vertical lift hoist with an open barrel design so
there is no lateral movement in the load. The M8 heavy duty
rating on all crane mechanisms was required because of the
large number of bulk bags passing through the warehouse and
the high frequency of crane movements.
The cranes are of an advanced specification and include
several features to enhance productivity and safety. They are
radio controlled from the cabins and have automated safety
systems; these include systems to recognise identification
tags on personnel and forklift trucks to stop the crane and
avoid collision.
Speaking for GMTS, Hannes Steenberg explained, “We won this
order because we are one of only a few companies in South
Africa with the experience and capability to offer M8 equipment
and meet such a demanding and complex specification.
Despite the technical complexity, exacting schedule and
logistical challenges, GMTS met all deadlines throughout the
project. Our commitment to the project will continue as we
have undertaken an agreement to maintain the equipment for
a further five years following commissioning”.
These are not the largest cranes that GM Technical Services
has ever built – that was an order for two 32 metre span
cranes of 100 tonnes SWL – but it was nevertheless a major
logistical challenge. Special permits were needed to negotiate
the 180 kilometre journey through three provinces from
the GTMS factory in Vereeniging, to the Illovo warehouse in
Pietermaritzburg.
b
ILLOVO SUGAR UPGRADES
its lifting facilities in new warehouse
