Terex invest in ABUS and the future
When Terex Benford took over the lease on a new facility in Coventry, the empty shell required quickly fitting out with production lines which would hit the previous factory output of dumper trucks, road rollers and back hoe loaders within a week of going live.
Within a very tight timescale, 60 workstation jib cranes and 14 overhead cranes were supplied and installed, ensuring that each worker had his own crane. This flexibility meant that the production line process would never be slowed waiting for a crane to become available. The experiment in productivity was immediately successful as previous output numbers were indeed achieved within five days on the first of the lines to be installed.
Terex turned to ABUS Crane Systems – one of the world’s leading crane and hoist manufacturers, producing more than 5,000 overhead cranes and 14,000 hoists per year – to achieve these goals. The 4 year basic guarantee and ISO9001 manufacturing quality system of ABUS offered the very high levels of equipment quality required. The customer service levels and installation experience gained from similar installations in over 50 markets world-wide meant that not only were the tight deadlines achieved by ABUS, but there was enough flexibility within the programme to allow Terex continuous re-designs of certain production areas even during the contract.
Although the deadlines were tight, ABUS did not skimp on innovation to provide Terex with its showpiece installation such as the service lines delivering electricity and compressed air which are carried above the cranes, ensuring no trip hazards or floor digging requirements at low level. This also makes the future re-positioning of cranes much more straightforward.
Giles Dodge (Terex project co-ordinator) explained that Terex chose ABUS not just because of the competitive price. “It was the level of technical support on offer which impressed us. This installation was an investment not just in equipment but in the future of our company, and it was important to get it right. Also the equipment is supplied with a four year warranty when most suppliers offer one or two at the most, so that in itself gave us confidence in both the product and the back up we would receive. Right from the outset, ABUS kept their promises to us and delivered on time.”
