Konecranes to Supply 56 Cranes
Cranes are for New Vestas Wind Tower Manufacturing Plant
HOUSTON, TEXAS (September 24, 2008)—Vestas Towers A/S, a global wind power company headquartered in Randers, Denmark, has selected Konecranes to supply 56 cranes for its new Wind Turbine Tower manufacturing facility in Pueblo, Colorado. This will be the second plant Vestas has built in Colorado. The first, located in Windsor, Colorado near Fort Collins, manufactures the blade section of the company’s wind turbine line. Vestas has targeted completion of the tower manufacturing facility for October, 2009.
“Vestas Towers has selected Konecranes America Inc. as supplier of cranes to our new tower factory in Pueblo, Colorado, because we see their products as well known and very reliable. Reliability is a key issue for Vestas,” commented Vestas’ Production Expert, Towers, Thomas Sorensen.
The order includes both Konecranes CXT and SM Spacemaker type cranes, ranging in capacity from 10 to 45 tons, with spans up to 33 meters. The cranes will be used throughout the tower manufacturing process. Four outdoor, cab-operated cranes feature SM Spacemaker heavy hoists; three equipped with semi-automation and DynAPilot antisway control systems. These cranes will receive the incoming steel plates and flanges that arrive by railcar and place them into a storage area with a coordinate axis grid system. DynAPilot’s teachable-destination feature will assist the operator to take the outdoor cranes to predetermined locations along the three 155-foot runways where product is stored. The operator then picks up the material, manually loading it on a conveyor. Inside the production facility the cranes are used to handle steel plates in the cutting, rolling, welding and painting operations. Many of the cranes are configured with magnet systems.
“The scope of this project includes more than supplying the cranes,” said Joseph Botros, Konecranes Regional Sales Manager. “Konecranes will also supply all of the rail, over 4.4 kilometers’ worth, plus 8.8 kilometers of conductor bar, and all of the disconnect switches. We will be doing a complete turnkey installation including load testing. This means we are closely involved not only at the shop level but also on site with the customer,” Botros continued. The installation construction and load testing will be staged over several months from April to August 2009.
According to Doug Maclam, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Konecranes America, this project is an example of two international companies developing a working relationship that has evolved into a global partnership.
“We are also working with Vestas on similar projects in several other countries,” said Maclam. “Vestas appreciates the consistency of our global product platform, in particular Konecranes’ proprietary DynA load control technologies, which manage a number of critical functions to reduce structural stress, increase efficiency and prolong equipment life.”
Vestas’ Thomas Sorensen further summarized the relationship between Vestas and Konecranes. “Vestas Towers found that Konecranes America was best able to accommodate our requirements for cranes at the Colorado tower facility in relation to performance, quality and price. We also found the team from Konecranes America to be very professional during the whole phase from inquiry to final selection. We therefore have high confidence in Konecranes America, and are sure that they will do whatever needed to make this project a great success,” Sorensen said.
About Konecranes
Konecranes is a world-leading group of Lifting Businesses, serving a broad range of customers, including manufacturing and process industries, shipyards, ports, and terminals. Konecranes provides productivity-enhancing lifting solutions as well as services for lifting equipment and machine tools of all makes. In 2007, Group sales totaled EUR 1,750 million. The Group has 9,350 employees at more than 470 locations in 43 countries, including 100 branches in North America.
CONTACTS
Doug Maclam
Vice President, Sales and Marketing
Konecranes Americas
(281) 445-2225
doug.maclam@us.konecranes.com