September 2 - The success of its first AL.SK190 over the past three years has prompted ALE to introduce its second machine of this kind.
The 4,300 tonne capacity machine is a duplicate of the original.
Ronald Hoefmans, executive director - ALE, said: "The AL.SK190 has been the world's largest capacity crane since 2008; with such global success it became evident that ALE needed to develop a second crane of this kind to meet the increasing demand. The second crane will provide ALE with the advantage to take on more projects and be more flexible with project programmes."
The success of the AL.SK190 was evident during a recent project in Port Arthur, Houston, where the AL.SK190 lifted the derrick in what was the first time a complete derrick assembly consisting of triple drill towers and cutting deck, had been removed and replaced in a single piece with the crane positioned away from the coke pit.
This project also highlighted the crane's ability to save both time and money. The lifting radius of the AL.SK190 meant that the crane could be rigged off plot, the result being that no permanent equipment in the refinery had to be dismantled and the coke pit wall did not have to be removed saving considerable amounts of time and cost to the client.
Due to the use of the AL.SK190 on the Thai Growth Project, Thailand - ALE were able to complete all lifts in under a month - significantly lower than the three months needed with any other crane claims the company. This not only provided savings on time but also resulted in significant cost savings for the client, ALE adds.
The AL.SK crane fleet is equipped with a standard quick winch system for weights of up to 600 tonnes and a strand jack lifting system for loads of up to 5000 tonnes.
This year, ALE launched its Mega Jack system which is capable of lifting 50,000 tonnes to a height of 25 m and was developed to meet increasing demand in the offshore industry.
