Two giant ABUS EOT cranes at an automotive supplier in Ireland
The county of Carlow in the south western part of Ireland is famous for its prehistoric dolmens and in Browneshill you can find the very special Neolithic portal tomb with the biggest capstone in Ireland. This granite capstone has some very impressive data: The stone weighs about 100 t, measures, 4.7 x 8.1 m and has a thickness of about 2 m. There are different theories as to how this portal tomb has been erected but they all come the same conclusion and that is that the capstone has been found on site and not been transported or lifted to its final position...
The company Autolaunch Ltd. (www.autolaunch.ie), also located in the county of Carlow, in Bagenalstown, is a manufacturer of automotive panels and presses and also deals with very heavy loads some weighing even 150 Tonnes. The company is obliged to move and lift these heavy loads in order to maintain a continuous and efficient production flow. The solution for this challenge was provided by Walter Watson Ltd. (www.walter-watson.co.uk), the sole agent for ABUS Crane Systems in Ireland. They installed two double girder ZLK type cranes with a span of 34.5 m and an SWL of 75 t (working in tandem on radio control for lifting a total load of 150 t). The cranes feature full-length maintenance platforms and 16 t auxiliary hoists (wire rope hoist type GM 5000) making them the biggest cranes manufactured by Walter Watson to date.
Autolaunch Ltd., whose activities started in 2002, had previously purchased several ABUS cranes from Walter Watson Ltd. with Safe Working Loads of 30 t, 40 t and 50 t. Thanks to the excellent service record of these previous cranes Walter Watson Ltd. were the natural first choice for the order. The local manufacture of the crane beams, length 34.5 m and weight 24 t per beam, significantly reduced the transport distance, which meant that local manufacture provided a particularly economical solution. The four box girders were fabricated in Castlewellan and transported separately on special rear steer trailers, with police escorts, through built-up areas en route to the Motorway.
The large span building was designed to allow maximum area coverage over the large presses, eliminating costly double handling between bays and thus improving efficiency in the plant.
