Capital Equipment News April 2018

MATERIALS HANDLING NEWS

Manitowoc’s diagnostic mobile app to increase crane uptime

Manitowoc Cranes has announced a new smartphone app that will help customers to diagnose technical issues on their cranes much faster. The free app will be available on iOS and Android devices, and will enable users to understand the numeric diagnostic codes that are generated by their on-board control systems. Manitowoc is the first man- ufacturer in the crane industry to release an app of this kind. In the past, when cranes had technical issues, Manitowoc customers had no way to interpret the diagnostic codes that would appear on the main display of the crane’s cab. Specialised technicians would have to be called to the job site with proprietary equipment, and any time spent waiting affected the project Konecranes recently completed a major re- furbishment of a 16,8 t digester jib at Mondi in Richards Bay – well ahead of schedule. The entire job – removal, design, reverse engineer, paint, re-assemble, install, wiring and final commissioning – took 52 working days from date of project start to completion. In October last year, the Richards Bay team undertook the challenging removal of the crane. The jib sat 80 m high on top of the digester and a 440 t mobile crane with luffing booms was used to remove it, together with another 220 t mobile crane.

schedule. Now, with the freely available smartphone app that instantly tells users what codes mean, crane owners can begin working on solutions immediately, boosting their uptime. “We’re entering into a new era of crane operation where we can harness the power of mobile devices and Manitowoc wants to lead the way,” says John Alexander, director of all-terrain crane service, mobile training and telematics at Manitowoc. “By accessing a cloud database right from their smartphones, companies can quickly get valuable diagnostic information to keep their cranes up and running.” The first version of the app will address diagnostic codes on all Grove- and Mani- The removal took about seven days due to weather problems, including strong winds. Because of the serious structural damage the jib was condemned by the Konecranes service team on site. “The whole project ran smoothly despite the often adverse weather conditions,” says John MacDonald, service director at Konecranes. “We have an excellent crew, led by Ferdi Pieterse, which made this possible. They put the Konecranes name on the top of the leader board by showing that we can handle any size job in Richards Bay.” b

The free smartphone app is available now in both App Store (Apple) and Google Play (Android) by searching for “Manitowoc Diagnostic Code App”. towoc-branded cranes that run on Manito- woc’s Crane Control System (CCS), as well as all-terrain (GMK) models that have ECOS 1 or ECOS 2 installed. National Crane boom truck functionality will follow in a future update. b

Konecranes gets the better of a challenging project

The digester jib was handed over on January 30, 2018 – exactly a month ahead of schedule.

Capital Equipment Group acquires Shamrock Handling Concepts

The Capital Equipment Group (CEG) of Invicta Holdings Limited has acquired Shamrock Handling Concepts (Pty) Limited. “Through the acquisition, effective January 2, 2018, Shamrock Handling Concepts – with the continuing leadership of managing director, Marius Schutte – will operate under the auspices of Criterion Equipment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Invicta Holdings Limited,” explains Brenton Kemp, divisional managing director, Criterion Equipment (Pty) Limited. “The amalgamation of Shamrock and Criterion Equipment bodes well for both businesses and strengthens Invicta’s position in the materials handling sector,” he adds. “Shamrock retains its own corporate identity, but will benefit from the group’s financial muscle and both companies will benefit from a complimentary product portfolio, shared expertise and an extended customer base,” says Kemp. Criterion Equipment’s range of TCM forklift trucks and a broad distribution network of seven branches and 12 dealers in southern Africa, is enhanced by Shamrock’s established position in the industry. Shamrock Handling Concepts is the sole distributor of Moffett truck-mounted forklifts and also supplies other leading brands, including Combilift, Innolift and Agrimac all-terrain forklifts, as well as Multisweep sweepers.

From left: Brenton Kemp, MD, Criterion Equipment; Nigel Brook, product business manager, Moffett Engineering; and Marius Schutte, MD, Shamrock Handling Concepts.

CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS APRIL 2018 46