In August 2011, Terex Material Handling a global handling group, completed the purchase of 82% of the shares of Demag Cranes AG, adding a new business segment – Material Handling & Port Solutions – to Terex.
Lutz Dowy, Head of Process Cranes comments: “Our focus on specific applications, such as those in the steel production sector, has enabled us to develop in-depth expertise in the industry. Our customers benefit from this wealth of knowledge, since we are able to offer them crane solutions that are engineered to meet their exact needs.”
A recent project to Saudi Arabia saw two Demag caster cranes delivered. Each consist of a double-girder overhead travelling cranes with spans of 22m and lifting heights of 13m. Each are equipped with two Demag hoist units (MPW multi-purpose winches) which have load capacities of 120t and 40t installed on one crab.
Special spreaders used to handle the casting ladles have also been supplied. While the 120-tonne hoist unit is used for lifting, the 40-tonne hoist unit is employed for the tipping motion. Since this requires exact positioning of the crane installations, the drive systems need sophisticated control in three motion axes. For this reason, all of the Demag drives on the cranes – the long and cross-travel drives and the hoist drives – are fed by frequency inverters.
Both of the process cranes are designed to operate reliably in arduous environments. Besides high dust levels, temperatures reach up to 65°C. To ensure high availability, the entire control system is installed in air-conditioned switchgear cabinets on the crane bridge. The cranes are controlled from an enclosed crane cab, which is also equipped with air-conditioning. Alternatively, remote radio control can also be used. Further special design features include an integrated weighing device that is used to measure and display the weight of the loads.
Terex Material Handling has the largest installed base of cranes and hoists worldwide and is present all over the world with a corresponding service organisation to safeguard the availability of crane systems.