Capital Equipment News

CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS

NOVEMBER 2015

abcock’s plant services business can

be regarded as the largest empow-

ered crane and plant services pro-

vider in Southern Africa today. Its Level 4

Broad- Based Black Economic Empowered

(BBBEE) rating places them in the forefront

of contention for any major infrastructure

project development that requires its me-

chanical construction plant hire. With a

combined inventory of more than 40 000

items of plant for hire-from mobile cranes

to welding and construction plant Babcock

caters for the energy, process, marine, pet-

rochemical and mining industries in South-

ern Africa.

The recent acquisition of a new Tadano AT-

F400G-6, 400 ton, All-Terrain Crane has

further extended the capabilities of Babcock

and has enabled it to increase its level of

service to a broader sector of industry. “With

the acquisition of this 400 t crane, the big-

gest Tadano unit in our fleet, we have beefed

up our heavy rigging capacity to meet most

of the demands of any infrastructure devel-

opment, we can be called upon to quote,”

explained Ian Kendrick, Managing Director,

Plant Services.

The ATF400-6 crane has been allocated to

the Richards Bay branch, from where it will

be operating at Richards Bay Minerals on

a three year contract. The branch in Rich-

ards Bay was established to cater for the

proposed industrial expansion in the area.

Richards Bay Coal Terminal and Mondi, in

particular, will be high demand areas. Be-

fore the ATF400-6 was placed in operation,

a heavy rigging crew, of 12 personnel with

an average of 20 years experience, received

training at Tadano as they will be in constant

attendance wherever the crane operates.

The Tadano ATF400-6 All Terrain Crane

boasts a spacious two man panoramic car-

rier cab of composite structure with, tinted

glass and air-cushioned adjustable seats.

The ergonomic design of the cab ensures

the driver has complete control of the ve-

hicle for road travel at all times with all the

basic functions at his fingertips.

On the road, the six-axle vehicle is highly

manoeuvrable with all six axles steerable

and four driven. The driven axles incorpo-

rate transverse differential locks. Power

for the ATF400-6 carrier is provided by a

Mercedes-Benz OM 502 LA 8-cylinder die-

sel engine rated at 480 kW @ 1 800 rpm

and 3 000 Nm of torque @ 1 300 rpm. The

ZF-TC-Tronic HD transmission with torque

convertor and integrated intarder, electro

pneumatically operated dry-type clutch and

automatic gear-shifting incorporates 12 for-

ward and two reverse gears.

The superstructure frame of the ATF400-6

is a torsion resistant, all welded structure of

high strength steel. It is connected to the

carrier by a triple roller bearing, slewing ring

with external gearing for 360 degree contin-

uous rotation. A full central lubricating sys-

tem is fitted as standard. The slewing sys-

tem consists of an axial piston motor with

three-stage planetary gear with automatic

service and parking brake.

The telescopic boom extends to a full length

of 60 m making it the highest capacity in

its class and with the additional 'Power Sys-

tem', allows the crane to increase its lifting

capacity. The boom consists of five sections,

made of high tensile, fine grained steel con-

sisting of 1 base section and 4 telescoping

sections extended by means of a single tele-

scopic cylinder. The Hydraulic Telescoping

Luffing Jib (HTLJ), when fitted on top of the

main telescopic boom, gives the crane an

additional 36 m and allows it to operate in

narrow areas.

Major feature of the ATF400-6 is the 138 ton

counterweight combination that is infinitely

divisible depending on the application. The

counterweight can be assembled and dis-

assembled by hydraulic cylinders operated

by remote control. This feature ensures a

minimum site establishment time before the

crane commences operation.

One of the safety features incorporated

into the design of the ATF400-6 is the Lift

Adjuster function, which completely pre-

vents the load from swaying. Operated by

the driver at the touch of a button, the Lift

Adjuster is particularly advantageous when

having to pick up non visible loads or loads

at height. The operator can concentrate on

the load and the load environment, includ-

ing all the workers around the load because

the crane radius is automatically maintained

without having to keep an eye on the crane

instruments. The result is a sway free load

pickup, thus ensuring the safety of the load

and personnel in the vicinity.

Owing to its comparatively high load capac-

ity, the ATF400-6 rarely operates at its limit

compared to competitors' cranes. This is not

only an advantage for the safe handling of

the material but also reduces operating er-

rors from the operator's cab.

With its ever increasing fleet of highly spe-

cialised cranes and, being the only plant

services company in South Africa with full

ISO accreditation, Babcock is well geared

to enter into any partnership on any major

project in Southern Africa.

BABCOCK ACQUIRES

latest Tadano ATF400G-6 all-terrain crane

LIFTING