Over the past 24 months Active Crane Hire has significantly expanded its tower crane fleet with additions from leading Chinese manufacturer Zoomlion. Director, Hermann Buchberger explains more.
“Two years ago we made a strategic decision to expand our fleet into larger capacity cranes. We were doing very well with our luffing range, which includes hydraulic luffers up to eight tonnes, but we’ve now also purchased luffing cranes up to 25 tonnes. We’ve also expanded our large hammerhead fleet, and our latest addition takes us getting up to the 400-metre ton class of flat-top,” said Hermann.
He said there has been a shift in Active Crane Hire’s fleet but there are still a lot of cranes in the smaller range and that is what the business is recognised for.
“We are slowly reducing that fleet and expanding into larger capacity cranes. At this stage we have no intention of moving into cranes capable of managing large data centres or infrastructure projects, but we think there are opportunities between the 100 to 200-metre tonne cranes, up to 400-metre tonnes. It is in that area we believe we can grow and that is where we are investing,” said Hermann.
“We will focus on residential construction, but we also see opportunities in the construction of commercial storage units and other areas where precast panel construction requires larger cranes. We are working on a couple of very big projects where our cranes will be on site for three to five years because they build three, four, five, 600 units over various stages of the development.”
Hermann discusses how the relationship with Zoomlion started and has developed.
“About 18 months ago, we had our first visit from the crane management at Zoomlion and they had a very interesting product. It is what I call the ‘Hybrid Luffer’, because it is a hydraulic luffer and hammerhead in one crane. It’s the RL165, 10 tonnes capacity crane.
“Prior to the COVID pandemic I had looked at similar technology from an Italian company. It was very interesting to have one crane that can do both, but it didn’t go any further and the company no longer exists. Zoomlion presented its range of cranes and the RL165 model popped up and I said, ‘Guys, now I’m interested’.”
Before purchasing cranes from Zoomlion, Hermann wanted his team to see the Zoomlion factory first-hand to witness the design, engineering and manufacturing processes. He had Matthew O’Hearn, a highly qualified and reputable independent crane engineer, visit the factory and on his return, he gave everything the thumbs up.
“Obviously we required Australian design registration on Australian standards and Matthew was happy to do that. I then sent members of my team, including the service team, because if they don’t accept the product that I choose, it’s game over. Zoomlion operates a ‘smart factory’ which features state-of-the-art robotics and other leading technologies.
“Everyone returned super impressed saying the factory was in ‘another world’ and we made the decision to introduce the RL165 to the fleet. The first project was in Adelaide where we worked with Marcus Rigney and his team at Load 28, it’s a joint venture,” said Hermann.
“Marcus is also very interested in new and innovative products, and we agreed the first hybrid luffer would go to Adelaide. We also bought an L315 – a 20 tonne luffer which features a remote cabin –and this also went to Adelaide.
“Before that crane even arrived, the demand for luffers was so big in Sydney we ordered five RL165s. One of a kind doesn’t work for us, we need multiple units. The cranes arrived over the course of last year and they were all up and working in the field. Zoomlion products stack up for us. We landed a big job for Deicorp in Zetland, New South Wales, where we also committed to one of the larger hammerheads, the R335-20, a 20 tonne capacity crane that you can split from 4-Fall to 2-Fall and it operates as a 10 tonne crane,” he said.
Hermann confirmed that some years ago Zoomlion bought Wilbert, a German manufacturer of custom tower cranes, which provided him with more confidence as to the pedigree of the Zoomlion brand.
“Wilbert cranes manufactured high quality tower cranes in Belm in Germany until they got into financial trouble. They were renowned for strong towers, tall cranes and quality manufacturing but it is expensive to manufacture in Germany. When Zoomlion purchased Wilbert they made some design changes, but the towers are still top-notch.
“For the project in Zetland, Zoomlion provided us with a freestanding height of 70 metres, where as other manufacturers would have required a tie or much larger tower configurations which puts pressure on pricing. We’ve been impressed with the Zoomlion product and the backup and support Zoomlion provide. We required a small rigging change with the RL165, they listened and made the change and it’s here.”
Hermann is an innovative thinker when it comes to the future of tower cranes. He monitors the emerging trends and technologies to ensure he is making the right decisions when it comes to purchases for the Active Crane Hire fleet.
“Cranes might get taller, lift more to greater distances, but at the end of the day a crane is a crane, in simple terms there’s a structure and rotating part,” he said.
“In my opinion, it’s not how much the crane will change in the future, it is how we operate them. We have progressed from cranes being operated from the cabin to now seeing the use of remote control systems. I was interested to see the work of an Israeli company which conducted a lot of research and development with remote cabin controls, which enables you operate a crane from anywhere.
“Today, cranes feature multiple cameras, sensors and safety systems designed to assist with operating the crane remotely. We call Zoomlion’s remote control system Remote Cabin. Both Marcus and I were keen to pursue the remote cabin concept and when the project was secured in Adelaide, we bought one. The Remote Cabin is hardwired to the crane to overcome obvious questions in relation to time lags, response times and what happens if there is a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) outage,” said Hermann.
Hermann said there are obvious ergonomic factors for the operator using remote technology such as Remote Cabin. The operator doesn’t have to climb the tower everyday and can go to the toilet when needs to. Remote operations open up opportunities for retired operators who can’t manage the climb but would still like to work. The technology also provides opportunities for the physically handicapped and disabled.
Importantly, remote operations could make crane operating more attractive to younger generations as the environment around technologies such as Remote Cabin is very much like a ‘gaming environment’. For example, large international ports are operating completely cabinless cranes to load and unload containers with the operators working from a central control room.
“Are you good at computer games? Is apparently a question asked during some job interviews,” said Hermann. “With today’s camera technology and sensory technology, pre-operational checks can be completed remotely and more thoroughly. The way we operate cranes is changing and we want to be at the forefront of this change.”
