YEM Technology’s Material and Store Supervisor, Sait Ucal, discusses YEM’s latest purchase of an XCA160_AU, a crane designed specifically to thrive in Australian mining conditions.
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XCMG Australia has sold a 160-tonne all-terrain crane into Australia’s mines, with APAC construction, maintenance and development of mining processing plant company, YEM Technology, announcing its purchase of the machine.
Acquired to expand the company’s fleet and help advance its operations, the XCA160_AU will be deployed on Australia’s largest magnetite mining and processing operation in Australia, Sino Iron, located 100km south west of Karratha in Western Australia. According to YEM Technology’s Material and Store Supervisor, Sait Ucal, the crossover between affordability and performance presented a business case that was too strong to ignore.
“We needed a new crane in this capacity range to expand our capabilities at the Sino Irone site,” he said. “We’ve worked with XCMG’s products before, and this machine features better technology, new inputs and an ergonomic cabin design for operator comfort.”
On top of its 160-tonne lifting capacity, the XCA160_AU possesses a six-section, U-shaped 62m main boom that comes with jib extensions of 10.5m, 17.5m, and 40m. The crane is powered by a Mercedes Benz Engine that is compliant with the upcoming ADR 80/03 standards, can reach a road speed of up to 80km per hour and falls under the public road limit of 12 tonnes per axle with its main boom on, making the machine highly transportable and efficient at travelling from site to site.
Furthermore, the drive of the crane features ZF transmission with 12-speed forward gears and two-speed reverse gears and is road registerable in all states across Australia and New Zealand. The crane also possesses axle load monitoring technology, where the proper gear and axle driving mode are matched automatically, providing further safety for the crane and driver when travelling.
The specifications and technical features only represent one side of the equation, however: one of the major selling points of the XCA160_AU for Sait was the post-sale service and support offered by the Chinese manufacturer with its machines.
“In our experience, XCMG technicians have been fantastic, providing good follow up support and in constant attendance for any servicing requirements that we needed,” he said. “Ultimately, the product is good, compliant, and presents a much more cost-effective solution than some of its European counterparts.”
News of YEM Technology’s purchase comes after the manufacturer showcased an extensive range of “Australia-ready” machines at the CICA Conference in October last year that were designed specifically for operations in rainy, hot and humid environments. The XCA160_AU was among those, with the manufacturer saying the crane was capable of performing optimally in temperatures of up to 50 degrees Celsius.
XCMG’s ANZ Crane Manager Stephen Broomfield said YEM Technology’s purchase was reflective of the quality that he “knows” is prevalent within XCMG’s products.
“We are bringing cranes over to the country that are fully compliant with upcoming ADR changes and can comfortably withstand the harsh Australian climate,” he said. “XCMG is committed to providing the Australian market with European standard cranes at affordable prices with shorter lead times.”