Wedge Galvanizing has purchased two special 10t double girder cranes for its workshop, while Dorman Long Engineering is buying three double girder overhead cranes and two semi-Goliath travelling cranes for its new Nigerian galvanizing operation.
Both projects will be delivered before the year end and have a combined value of over £300,000.
At Worksop, where Wedge said it operates the longest galvanizing bath in Europe, the company is modernising to increase crane lifting capability and improve material throughput. The new cranes, each double girder with hoists of 10t SWL, will be used in the pre-treatment bay for sequential de-greasing, rinsing and fluxing of both components and large structures prior to hot-dip galvanizing.
Street sales manager Gus Zona said: “Overhead cranes are crucial to the galvanizing process. They need to withstand continuous heavy usage in a demanding environment and yet provide flexibility.” Hoist mechanisms are therefore rated heavy duty M6/M7.
During preparation, smaller building components mounted on jigs, or large structural steel elements, supported by a beam, are chemically treated by dipping prior to galvanizing.
To achieve the required results, load lowering and raising speeds need to be finely controlled to ensure that the steel is exposed for the correct time and excess chemicals can be drained before moving to the next process. Appropriately rated motors have been installed to meet these differing speed demands.
Street has provided overhead cranes with two-speed operation, using VX series open barrel wire-rope hoists.
Crane controls are housed in IP55 environmentally sealed enclosures, electrical wiring is in non-PVC sheathed cable and brake seal materials have been selected to withstand the adverse site conditions.
At Worksop, pendulum crane control has been selected, but provision is included for the installation of radio control in the future. The two new overhead cranes join two existing Street units in the pre-treatment workshops.
Dorman Long Engineering said it is the largest fabricator of process equipment, pressure vessels and steelwork in Nigeria and principal supplier to the oil and gas sector and construction industry. The order is for three overhead gantry cranes, each of 5t SWL and two semi-goliath cranes, each with twin hoists of 5t SWL.
They are also engineered for demanding and continuous use in a hot and dusty environment. They are destined for new galvanizing plant with an annual capacity of 50,000t.
This is the first major hot-dip galvanizing plant in Nigeria. It is being built to support an initiative by the Nigerian government to develop local engineering capacity for the energy and construction industries. The galvanizing plant is just one part of a major expansion of Dorman Long’s Nigerian operations.
Street Crane will supply the designs and the electro-mechanical components from the UK. The heavy structural elements will be fabricated in Nigeria by Dorman Long Engineering to Street’s specifications.
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