India is handling heavier materials than ever before, necessitating the deployment of some of the world’s biggest cranes. Consider—a Mammoet PTC210-DS, a 5,000t capacity ring crane, is working at the Reliance refinery in Jamnagar. A Mammoet PTC35-DS, a 1,600t capacity ring crane, and the PT50, a 2,000t ring crane, have been deployed in Rajasthan on heavy refinery installations. By enabling heavy lifts at a high operating speed and sitewide lifting from a single location, such cranes reduce the productivity losses due to relocation downtime, making them optimal options for time-bound projects. Desirable features Sanghvi Movers’ lifts across thermal power, petrochemical and refineries, oil and gas, steel, cement, windmills, railways, metros and bridges projects. “Sanghvi Movers’ choice of heavy lifter (1800t, crawler crane) was driven by the OEM’s approach to pricing, futuristic design, service network, and safety features,” says Manish Pandey, Vice President, Sales, Sanghvi Movers. Coming to the actual features of the crane, Pandey emphasises the need for advanced safety features such as safe load indicators, hoist limit switches, electronic inclinometers, and hydraulic boom back-stops. Additional electronic accessories like wireless remotes, cameras, wind anemometers and GPS enhance safety during crane operations. Advanced control systems are desirable, and among these Pandey lists servo control with electronic synchronising devices, joystick selectors for independent motion control and diagnostic systems for troubleshooting. “Features like wireless rigging remote control and emergency remote control further enhance operational flexibility and safety,” he adds. Last but not the least, sustainability is a must-have feature in the construction and wind equipment industry, adds Pandey. “Proper equipment usage, preventive maintenance, ongoing training, and talent development contribute to the overall well-being and sustainability of our lifts.” Evaluating heavy lifters HEFT Cranes International, a specialist in heavy lifts, has been using a XCMG 2000-tonne crawler crane XLC30000 in its refinery project at Pachpadra, Rajasthan, since 2023, to execute critical heavy lifts on schedule. An XCMG 1700-tonne crawler crane XLC22000, also belonging to HEFT Cranes International, is working at a refinery project at Paradip handling different types of vessels with many crane configurations to choose from. Both these heavy lift cranes are equipped with the latest planning and safety features. Planning features help to envisage lift scenarios in terms of the availability of space, plan to avoid obstructions, the ground conditions and consider the factor of safety in each area of lift. Advanced monitoring systems composed of switches and sensors display current operational parameters so that operators can make informed decisions on the actual load, radius, forces on various crane members, wind speed parameters and so on. Schwing Stetter XCMG was the first to introduce India to the heavy lift crawler cranes XCMG XLC30000 and XLC22000 from China, to fulfil a major gap in the domestic market. Prior to this, only heavy lift companies from outside India were deploying such cranes on a temporary basis in India to be re-exported after the project completion. Making heavy lift cranes available domestically has helped to bring down cost of project execution. Manoj Chaudhari, Director, Heft Cranes International explains the reasons behind his choice: “We chose XCMG Cranes for their sturdiness, ease of use and service level commitment from Schwing Stetter XCMG. We had carried out thorough evaluation of the capacities of available heavy cranes in a similar capacity range and noticed that the XCMG cranes chosen by us have superior capacities.” Customised cranes Tata Projects uses two Potain MCT 565 A topless tower cranes for construction of the new terminal building of Noida Airport. When completed, this airport will be Asia’s largest with an annual passenger capacity of 225 million and five runways. While the MCT 565 A M25 models have a maximum capacity of 25 t and allow up to 80 m of jib, Tata Projects needed an extended jib reach of 85 m for greater jobsite coverage. Eighty-five metres is the longest jib currently working on any project in India. Manitowoc’s Lift Solutions ability to engineer this extension was a leading factor in Tata Project’s decision to purchase the cranes. The good track record of other Potain cranes in Tata Projects’ fleet also contributed to this decision. “Over the years, we’ve had remarkable performance from our older Potain cranes, some of which have been in operation for more than 25 years without a breakdown,” said Alok Banik, Deputy General Manager, Plant & Machinery, Tata Projects. Optimised port operations At APM Terminals Mumbai (Gateway Terminals India), ZPMC post-panamax cranes enable efficient container handling while single-sided cantilever cranes tailored for train cargoes enhance operational capabilities. Rubber-tired gantry cranes streamline container stacking operations. These cranes have a 23-containers outreach and are capable of handling the largest vessels calling on Nhava Sheva’s Jawaharlal Nehru Port. With these cranes, APM Terminals Mumbai (Gateway Terminals India) can cater to larger vessels and has increased its container-handling capacity by 10 per cent, to 2.18 million TEUs. “We are making our terminal safer, better, and bigger,” says Sunay Mukerjee, Chief Operating Officer, APM Terminals Mumbai. At Adani Vizhinjam Port, India’s first mother vessel port equipped to handle the largest vessels carrying substantial container volumes, container stacking and truck loading are automated processes. Super post-panamax cranes are being used to handle mother vessels at high lifting speeds and automated double-sided cantilever cranes in the container stacking and loading yards. Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries (ZPMC) accounts for 75-80 per cent of the global container crane market. ZPMC post-panamax cranes have a horizontal reach of up to 45 meters and a lifting height of about 35 meters. They can lift a weight of about 50 tonnes in a single lift and up to 65 tons in a double lift. Super post-panamax cranes have a reach of about 50 meters and lift to a height of about 40 meters. ZPMCs portfolio also includes bulk handling cranes, rubber-tired gantry cranes, rail-mounted gantry cranes, single side cantilever cranes and double sided cantilever cranes. Some cutting-edge safety and performance advanced subsystems of ZPMC cranes are the container position determination system, trailer monitoring system, auto gantry steering system, chassis positioning system RTG/STS, chassis lift prevention system, etc. Dual-function cranes With the NX Series NextGen multi activity crane, Adani Power is managing the lifting and shifting of loads as well as an aerial work platform for people to work at heights for erection, with one machine, thus, significantly reducing our owning and operating cost, says Suryakand Sharma, Manager, Techno Commercial, Adani Power, Kawai. “Usually, construction sites need a crane for lifting and shifting of loads as well as an aerial work platform for people to work at heights for erection, installation and miscellaneous jobs,” he notes. ACE has recently launched the in-house designed NX Series NextGen multi activity crane, a 15-tonne capacity pick-n-carry crane which also doubles up as an aerial work platform (man lift). NX Series NextGen multi activity cranes have articulated steering and a hydraulically operated jib of the man lift basket. People working at height can adjust or control the horizontal jib position and basket rotation from the basket itself. The basket capacity is 230 kgs with a working height of 21 mtrs (68 feet). Workmen safety is ensured through a safe load indicator. The hydraulically-operated man lift basket can be easily detached or attached to the crane. Nifty reachstackers Arya Translogistics, a leading hirer for reachstackers from Gujarat serves ports, private freight terminals and inland container depots in the north and west. To serve customers including Adani, Transworld, DP World, Hind Terminals, Tata Groups, Arcelor Mittal Nippon Steel etc., it has invested in 23 Hyster reachstackers since 2011. Hemraj Gurjar, Director, Arya Translogistics, recommends Hyster TIL reachstackers for outstanding machine quality and their service quality. “The machine performed beyond expectations till date and [we] appreciate TIL’s responsiveness towards resolution of any issues from our side,” says Gurjar. Hyster TIL reachstackers are designed to optimise the use of space in container terminals through their outstanding manoeuvrability, superior handling speed and unrestricted stacking capabilities. Being a global machine completely made in India, they are a lowest cost of ownership option that brings a legacy of reliability. These are very desirable features indeed!