When UK construction equipment manufacturer JCB was looking to upgrade the production area of its Cheadle, Cheshire site, it turned to Abus to supply more than 40 gantry cranes in a “very tight timescale”.
There was enough flexibility within the programme to allow JCB a complete re-design of one of the gantries during its production.
Abus had to guarantee that the cranes would operate at 98% uptime, so that the cranes would hardly interfere with machinery production.
Cross bridge power supply via newly developed power chain both reduced side approaches and ensured no snagging problems that can occur with traditional festooning. The new Abus LIS load indication system displays on each push button pendant a digital readout which shows at all times how much weight is on the crane hook. Cranes on the same gantry run were also supplied with a photo-electric anti-collision device, which is designed to slow or stop cranes prior to collision at an adjustable set distance apart.
Since the installation, JCB has ordered a further eight Abus cranes for another part of its factory.
