Southern Steel, the largest privately owned steel distributor in Australia, is extending its long running relationship with Konecranes with the successful; installation of 17 new overhead cranes in Australia in the past 12 months.
With over 50 years experience in the steel industry, and an enviable reputation for reliability, flexibility and excellent service, it comes as no surprise that Southern Steel turns to Konecranes for the reliable and efficient lifting of its steel products.
And with close to 100 cranes spread across its numerous facilities in Australia, Southern Steel knows which overhead cranes can take the demanding workload steel distributors demand, and which cant.
The Solution
While Southern Steel did have a couple of minor problems at Milperra, mainly due to the structure being slightly behind schedule, overall we are very satisfied with the installation work carried out by Konecranes which also included the crane rail installation.
Dr Anthony Sive, Southern Steel's general manager business development, explained that price is not the overriding issue when it comes to purchasing overhead cranes. "At Southern Steel we run very high spec cranes, typically C6/M6, because if our cranes stop, our business stops," he said.
"We use Konecranes' CXT technology hoists and use the highest spec those hoists can get to. And if the crane is not working we aren't making any money. We are very busy and our business is growing rapidly and most of the steel we buy needs to be moved with the assistance of a crane. So our Konecranes have to work hard all day, and they carry out their strenuous role to our general satisfaction."
David Rodmell, Southern Steel's General Manager- Operations Techonology, says that because safety is a major issue for the company, all hoists feature remote radio controllers.
He said: "The radio controls give the operators the chance to stand back and get a very good look at the load they are carrying and see that they are not exposed to the proximity of anything that could go wrong.
At our Milperra plate processing facility in south-west Sydney, we have installed six new overhead cranes; one 20-ton crane, three 10-ton cranes, plus two 5-ton semi-portal cranes, with Truninger electro-magnets hanging off three of the bigger cranes to facilitate easy lifting and moving of large heavy loads."
Dr Sive explains that reliability and downtime are major issues for the company: "The fact is, if we dont' have cranes operating, we don't have a business - that's why we always turn to Konecranes for our lifting requirements."
The Result
Konecranes has also installed:
- Two new 10-ton crane and upgraded and relocated two overhead cranes at Southern Steel and Coil facility
- Installed five 10-ton cranes, with one designed to have plate attached at Southern Steels' Adelaide subsidiary, Brice Metals, the other four have twin hoists designed for handling general long products such as structural and tubular steel plus angles and channels
- Three new 10-ton overhead cranes and two refurbished Konecranes from Kwinana facility
- Replaced six hoists on cranes inBrisbane and Milperra
- One 10-ton crane in Victoria at Dandenong Surdex operation
"We have a long term relationship with Konecranes, and like any long term relationship you have your ups and downs but we always seem to be able to work our way through any issues that might arise and get back on track again. They are professional people to deal with, "Dr Sive said.
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