Konecranes World №8

Double Eagle Steel Coating Co. 

STANDARD 

AND STEEL page 3 

HEATHROW AIRPORT 

EXPANDS WITH THE HELP OF 

KONECRANES (UK) Ltd. 

page 6 

8 

Georgia-Pacific Finland Oy 

PULP & PAPER 

page 20

TECHNOLOGY AND 

PERFORMANCE 

Developing leading-edge technology for the material 

handling industry – this is our commitment at KCI 

Konecranes’ Standard Lifting Equipment. We bring our 

customers the latest in modern lifting equipment built to provide 

exceptional performance, reliability and safety. Through a 

potent combination of technical innovation and decades of 

experience we can tailor optimum solutions for each customer. 

Standard Lifting Equipment offers a wide variety of lifting 

products from 100 kg up to 100 tonne capacity for many different 

industries and applications. Our product range consists of 

industrial cranes and an extensive selection of crane components, 

including wire rope hoists, chain hoists, electrical control 

systems, workstation cranes, jib cranes and explosion proof 

components. 

We have a track record of being the first in our industry to 

introduce important new lifting solutions. The new CXT wire 

rope hoist design is one of our most recent innovations. Its 

compact design combined with stepless speed control and 

built-in safety features guarantees a level of performance that 

fulfils even the most demanding expectations. 

But, our work never ends. If we are to offer new products 

and solutions tomorrow we must stay focused on our goals 

today. A thorough understanding of our customers’ needs 

combined with a work force of experienced, highly trained 

and motivated personnel ensures that we will continue on our 

chosen path of leadership in overhead material handling. 

This issue of Konecranes World focuses on KCI’s standard 

lifting equipment business. It includes informative stories about 

customer applications from all around the world and the latest 

product news. I hope that you’ll enjoy the articles and hopefully 

find some new ideas for the lifting needs in your own business. 

For further details we’ll invite you to visit our homepage at 

www.konecranes.com and try our interactive crane design 

tools. On this page you can also find our global contact 

address list to reach the KCI Konecranes representative nearest 

you. 

With best regards, 

Pekka Päkkilä 

President 

Standard Lifting Equipment 

2 KONECRANES’ WORLD No 8 

CONTENTS: 

THIS MAGAZINE FOCUSES ON OUR STANDARD 

LIFTING EQUIPMENT BUSINESS AREA. 

STANDARD AND STEEL.....................................................3 

HEATHROW AIRPORT EXPANDS WITH THE HELP OF 

KONECRANES (UK) LTD. ..................................................6 

PRIM & KONECRANES’ RECIPE FOR GROWTH 

BLENDS PRODUCTS AND SERVICE ...................................9 

CUTTING-EDGE PLASTICS MANUFACTURER RELIES 

ON CXT CRANES ..........................................................11 

CHAIN HOISTS – ONWARDS AND UPWARDS! ................12 

KONECRANES VLC IS GOING STRONG IN RTG'S ...........14 

NEW COMPANY ESTABLISHED IN KOREA ......................14 

KCI KONECRANES INTO JAPAN ....................................15 

KCI KONECRANES DELIVERS HOT METAL CRANES 

TO NUCOR STEEL ..........................................................15 

PILKINGTON KEEPS THE GLASS MOVING, THANKS 

TO OUTSOURCED CRANE SERVICING ...........................16 

CRANE LAUGH .............................................................17 

THE NEW REMOC RADIO CONTROL IS DESIGNED 

FOR ERGONOMIC AND PRODUCTIVE USE ....................18 

CONTROLPRO FOR INCREASED SAFETY AND 

PERFORMANCE CONTROL............................................18 

KONEDUCTOR POWER SUPPLY SYSTEMS .......................19 

HOISTING IN HAZARDOUS ENVIRONMENTS – NEW 

EXPLOSION-PROOF CXT WIRE ROPE HOIST ...................19 

PULP & PAPER ..............................................................20 

DELIVERY OF THE 5000TH EOT CRANE IN AUSTRIA.........21 

NEW INDUSTRIAL CRANE PLANT IN GERMANY 

SUPPLYING CENTRAL EUROPE.......................................21 

A SAGA OF DRUMS AND WIRE ROPES ..........................22 

CORPORATE FIGURES...................................................24 

KCI KONECRANES GROUP AT A GLANCE.....................24 

PUBLISHER KCI Konecranes Plc 


P.O.Box 664, FIN-05801 

Hyvinkää, Finland 

Tel. +358-(0)20 427 11 

Fax +358-(0)20 427 3099 

EDITOR IN CHIEF Timo Toni, Marketing Director 


tel. +358-(0)20 427 3040 

Fax +358-(0)20 427 3099 

timo.toni@kcigroup.com 

PRODUCTION OnePartner Oy and 

KCI Konecranes Plc 

COPYRIGHTS KCI Konecranes Plc 

www.konecranes.com

STANDARD 

AND STEEL 

Two words almost never found in the same sentence (or on the same quote 

sheet) when specifying cranes for the North American steel industry. But as 

Double Eagle Steel Coating Co. discovered, a standard crane product from KCI 

Konecranes performed extremely well under pressure – with far better value and 

delivery than a traditionally-specified steel mill crane. 

Double Eagle Steel Coating Company 

is the largest producer of 

electro-galvanized steel in the 

world. It is a co-owned venture of U. S. 

Steel Corp. and Rouge Steel Co. based in 

Dearborn, Michigan, near the Rouge 

Complex where Henry Ford pioneered 

the assembly line manufacturing process 

during the early years of the automobile. 

Available through parent companies, 

Double Eagle’s rolled steel products are 

predominately used by automotive manufacturers 

and suppliers for parts such as 

doors and body panels, as well as other 

industries where high quality, corrosion 

resistant sheet steel is required. 

Double Eagle contacted KCI 

Konecranes in July of 2001, requesting a 

No 8 KONECRANES’ WORLD 

3

quote for a backup maintenance crane 

to supplement an existing 25-ton processduty 

crane in its galvanizing plant. Its 

Class E Kranco crane had been used for 

15 years in the harsh environment above 

the galvanizing line, and the line’s maintenance 

requirements were increasing. 

Planning an extensive renovation of the 

galvanizing plant, Double Eagle needed 

to accomplish the overhaul without 

impacting production. 

Double Eagle’s strategy was to purchase 

a new crane that could handle 

the same capacity as the existing crane – 

25 tons – to do routine maintenance while 

the original process duty crane was used 

to move out and replace all of the equipment 

identified for renovation. This 

involved doing maintenance on plating 

tanks plus all of the ancillary equipment 

associated with them, including large 

diameter rolls, passline rolls and the main 

conductor rolls for each tank, each of 

which weighs in at 23 tons. 

According to Steve Strawsburg, 

Konecranes’ sales representative for Double 

Eagle, the renovation project was on 

a fast track and delivery was the numberone 

priority. 

“The crane was described to me as a 

back-up maintenance unit over the high 

bay coating line. There were no written 

specs initially other than the original 

crane’s drawings. Based on their description 

and time frame I developed a quote, 

making clear that this was a CMAA Class 

“D” crane which came nowhere near 

meeting traditional steel mill specifications,” 

Strawsburg said. 

In a series of round-table discussions 

between Strawsburg and Double Eagle, 

Double Eagle representatives and consultants 

accustomed to specifying steel mill 

cranes repeatedly questioned the 

crane’s capabilities, going through every 

aspect in great detail. 

“Due to the project timing, delivery 

was paramount in our requirements,” says 

Frank Carnevale, Engineering / Maintenance 

Manager for Double Eagle. “We 

were looking for an inexpensive crane 


that we could put up in the bay quickly. 

We knew going into the purchase that it 

would not be a typical steel industry 

crane. We knew we were dealing with a 

standard product hoist assembly.” 

But the crane was only intended for 

maintenance and backup, and the 

importance of meeting the timetable 

tipped the scales in favor of the 

Konecranes proposal. Double Eagle 

decided to go forward with the purchase: 

a 25-ton single hoist, double box 

girder crane from Konecranes’ broad 

range of standard industrial cranes. Fully 

inverter-driven with variable speed 

remote control, it spans a 72-foot high 

bay and delivers 106 feet of lifting height. 

The crane also features a powered, rotating 

bottom block that enables the operator 

to rotate the deflector and conductor 

rolls into the correct angle for delivery to 

the tanks. The new crane was only weeks 

away from its scheduled installation when 

unforeseen circumstances took the 

plant’s primary Class E crane out of service. 

The new crane was promoted from 

backup to primary crane virtually 

overnight. 

“Everyone we dealt with at 

Konecranes – from sales through delivery 

– made good on their promises,” said 

Carnevale. “Delivery was our most critical 

item at that point, and the crane was 

here within a day of when we expected 

it.” 

The new standard series crane from 

Konecranes became the sole mover of all 

the equipment – both routine maintenance 

and renovation – for the plating 

tank replacement. It did its own equipment 

maintenance tasks to keep production 

going and all of the remove-andreplace 

work for the renovation as well. 

“This was a very large renovation,” said 

Carnevale, “and it was our only crane for 

two months. We still don’t consider it to 

be a process crane, since it’s not used 

every hour of every day. Yet, over the 

course of that two months we made as 

many lifts with it as we thought we’d 

make over two years.”

John S. Kennedy Jr. is Konecranes’ 

General Manager Operations, USA Industrial 

Cranes. According to Kennedy, the 

superior crane performance experienced 

by Double Eagle isn’t surprising, because 

a similar experience curve about the value 

of Konecranes’ standard hoist technology 

occurred in the paper industry some 

years ago. 

“The paper industry was and is a very 

demanding market segment, and in that 

regard is somewhat similar to the steel 

industry,” says Kennedy. “When a steel 

line or paper mill goes down it’s big money, 

and nobody wants the crane to be 

the reason.” 

Konecranes has introduced standard 

lifting products as an option to the paper 

industry, and those products have proven 

themselves with years of satisfactory performance. 

“The paper industry had longstanding 

preferences for lifting equipment, 

and they typically provided all of 

the specifications when they placed an 

order,” Kennedy said. “Ultimately, we 

were able to convince them that by 

telling us what they needed to accomplish 

rather than how the crane should be 

built, we could often design a solution 

from a line of cost-effective standard 

components larger than the entire product 

range of most of our competitors. Bottom 

line, we were able to deliver superior 

lifting technology at a substantially better 

value.” 

Konecranes’ pre-engineered solutions 

became so successful that today they 

are considered to be the standard in the 

pulp and paper industry worldwide. 

Kennedy believes this can also be the 

case for certain portions of the steel 

industry, where conventional solutions in 

some applications can be replaced with 

cost-effective standard solutions. 

“The challenge is ours to prove that 

these products will do the job,” says 

Kennedy.“We don’t want to extend our 

standard products into an application 

where those products aren’t well-suited. 

We still have a custom product for those 

special and most demanding applica- 

tions. But for some coil-handling, tube 

mills, machine maintenance, pickling, 

shipping bays and other similar steel mill 

tasks, we can offer technologically superior, 

cost-effective standard crane solutions 

rated up to Class E, well-supported by the 

Konecranes global service network and 

unmatched product warranty.” 

For example, Konecranes’ SM series 

cranes can be rated up to 400 tons; and 

are available in speeds, duty cycles and 

capacities well beyond that which is covered 

by Konecranes’ CXT line. Although 

SM cranes are still considered standard 

products, they offer a wider variety of 

motor and speed options and many special 

features, extending into Class E capability. 

Change begins with a single step, or 

in this case, a single customer with a 

problem to solve. According to Frank 

Carnevale, Double Eagle’s purchase from 

KCI Konecranes turned out to be an 

excellent investment for both its plant renovation 

and for future operations. 

“This crane made sense for us. With 

the renovation finished, we now have two 

cranes that give us long-term benefits in 

terms of reduced downtime and the ability 

to do multiple tasks at once, instead of 

just tasks in series with one crane,” says 

Carnevale. “As for performance, operating 

now in what we consider a pure maintenance 

mode, our Konecranes purchase 

is doing the job we need for substantially 

less cost than a direct replacement 

or duplicate of our original crane.” 

“Konecranes was able to perform at 

the level we required with its ‘modern’ 

solution,” Carnevale said.“If we hadn’t 

been able to get this crane when we 

needed it our downtime cost would easily 

have been many times the cost of the 

crane. Compared to the cost of not having 

it, the price of the crane itself was 

minor.” ■ 

For further information: 

John S. Kennedy Jr., 

General Manager Operations, 

USA Industrial Cranes 

john.kennedy@konecranes.com 


5

HEATHROW AIRPORT 

EXPANDS 

WITH THE HELP OF KONECRANES (UK) Ltd. 


Heathrow is the world's busiest 

international airport and the world's second 

busiest cargo port. Regarded as the hub of 

the aviation world, over 90 airlines have 

made Heathrow their base. With such an 

influx of both passengers and cargo there 

has long been a need for expansion and 

for over ten years there has been 

discussion about a fifth terminal.

T5 becomes a reality 

Finally, in 2001, a decision was made 

and T5 was no longer a pipedream. The 

vision was that T5 would be one of the 

world's most exciting airport terminals, 

visually attractive, easy to get to and 

through, comfortable and accessible for 

all. To address the hot topic of air traffic 

control at Heathrow, a new state-of-theart 

control tower will also be built. 

The new terminal will supplement 

Heathrow's existing four terminals, allowing 

the airport to grow in the future and 

accommodate the most advanced aircraft 

including those not yet in service 

such as the Airbus Industries A380. Fortunately, 

the actual site for the terminal lies 

between the two existing runways so the 

core terminal building and two satellite 

buildings are ideally located and do not 

require additional land for their construction. 

Transport links are of key importance 

and T5 is designed to be a world-class 

public transport interchange served by 

rail and road links. 

A Herculean task 

A stand-alone construction, the new 

terminal will be completed over an estimated 

five to six-year period providing 

some 6,000 construction jobs. New terminal 

buildings, baggage bays, parking 

ramps, fuel ports and transportation ways 

for passengers between terminals all have 

had to be developed from scratch, and 

with minimal effect on current Heathrow 

operations. The new terminal will eventually 

have the capacity to accommodate 

around 30 million passengers and will 

occupy a site of 260 hectares, just under 

a quarter of the 1,200 hectares occupied 

by Heathrow currently. 

Enter KONECRANES (UK) 

Towards the end of 2001, Express 

O’Rourke JV Limited asked KONECRANES 

(UK) Ltd, to provide a number of cranes 

for use in the custom built Rebar Factory, 

to be built at Colinbrook near Slough, a 

few miles from Heathrow Airport. The factory 

was to be specifically designed for 

the manufacture and distribution of the 

special reinforcing rods used in the construction 

of the terminal’s huge concrete 

structures. 

KONECRANES (UK) Ltd had previously 

delivered cranes to each of the JV partners 

in this project, albeit at different locations. 

Initially, nine CXTS overhead cranes 

were delivered in 2001 to an Express Reinforcements 

factory near Bristol in the 

south west of England. Then a number of 

Goliath cranes were delivered in 2002 to 

another joint venture project involving 

O’Rourke for the construction of the new 

rail link between central London and the 

Channel Tunnel. 

The new Rebar facility required fifteen 

cranes, types CXTD and CXTS, three 10t 

CXTS of 28m span to operate in a common 

bay 116m long. These cranes were 

supported by seven 10t CXTS models of 

24m span, operating in 3 bays each of 

116m in length, where 1 of these shared a 

track with 2 x 10t CXTD models of 24 span 

and a 1 x 10t CXTS of 12 m span also in a 

116m long bay. 

Additionally, two 10t CXTD cranes, 

each with two 5t CXTD hoists and an M6 

(duty) were installed where the hoists are 

set at fixed centres and used in tandem. 

These cranes work in a reception area 

complete with extended runway to allow 

the unloading of steel from railway wagons. 

One of these cranes has an open 

cabin, joystick control, partial platform 

and the facility for the end user to add 

hook-on magnets if required. The cranes 

also utilise Remox remote radio control 

with pendant back up, with one of the 

twin trolley cranes equipped with a joystick 

radio for use with a magnet. The other 

cranes rely on pushbutton control. With 

the exception of the twin trolley cranes at 

A6/M6, the duty is A5/M5, all long travel 

speeds are 0–63 m/min via DynAMove 


7

KONECRANES erection supervisor surveys his work on completion of erecting the 15 cranes, prior to the machinery moving in. 

inverter controls, all traverse drives are 

0–32 m/min via DynADrive and all hoists 

are 8/1.3 m/min via Pole Change control. 

“We believe the original enquiry was 

based on the success of the delivery to 

Express Reinforcements, where we delivered 

seven cranes of similar dimensions to 

do a similar job. The cranes have performed 

well and this almost certainly led 

to the enquiry for the terminal 5 project,” 

said Gordon Adie, head of KONECRANES 

(UK) Ltd. 

Faster operating speeds, 

maximised throughput 

Despite the size of the cranes the 

operating speeds are fairly fast which was 

an essential factor as the client had experienced 

disappointing results when using 

cranes with lower speeds. High levels of 

throughput were essential to obtain the 

manufacturing program required for the 

overall project. With this in mind, it was 

agreed that the DynA Technology perfected 

by KCI KONECRANES should be 

used so speeds could be controlled to 

maximise throughput with no adverse 

effect on the mechanisms or structures. 

Overload protection, anti-collision monitors, 

end of travel 2 step limit switches and 

2 step traverse limit switches were also 

added to provide as much operator safety 

as possible. 

“Once we had the enquiry we jointly 

selected the specification for this facility 

at Heathrow, making the necessary 


changes from the previous contract to 

suit a higher throughput and layout.” 

recalls Adie. “The cranes at Heathrow 

have faster travel speeds to suit the 

longer building and a number of double 

girder cranes to suit a different handling 

scheme and higher loadings in two key 

areas.” Adie adds. 

Signed, sealed, delivered 

The order was placed at the end of 

October 2002 for delivery to start at the 

end of February 2003 with the largest 

cranes first. It took time to get dimensional 

approval and the outdoor specification 

was only added for 2 cranes at the end of 

December 2002. 

“Our ability to meet the change in 

their requirements with the minimum of 

effort yet still meet the delivery requirements, 

coupled with a fair price, led to 

KONECRANES (UK) Ltd winning this contract,” 

explained Adie. 

The cranes were all delivered on time 

and were erected by end of March 2003. 

The last crane (10t (two x 5t) CXTD models 

with provision for magnets) was installed 

in April 2003. It was triumph indeed that 

KONECRANES (UK) Ltd. secured this contract 

against stiff UK and international 

competition, Perhaps a key overriding 

factor in the procurement of this prestigious 

contract was an unblemished track 

record with each of the joint venture 

companies and unmatched delivery performance. 

“We were pleased to work 

with the client to obtain the best offer 

possible, with cranes suitable for the job in 

hand that would prove, as in previous 

contracts, to be up to the job – reliable, 

easy to operate and maintain.” concludes 

Adie. ■ 

Gordon Adie, Managing Director, 

Konecranes (UK) 

gordon.adie@konecranes.com 

“Our ability to meet the change in their 

requirements with the minimum of effort yet still 

meet the delivery requirements, coupled with a 

fair price, led to KONECRANES (UK) Ltd winning 

this contract,” explained Gordon Adie, head of 

KONECRANES (UK) Ltd.

PRIM & KONECRANES’ RECIPE 

FOR GROWTH BLENDS PRODUCTS 

AND SERVICE 

The sale of more than 1500 cranes 

and 1700 hoists in three year’s time 

indicates that PRIM SpA, KCI 

Konecranes’ licensee in Italy, has 

developed a successful sales 

approach for the Italian market. 

a proactive relationship 

with customers, taking 

“Establishing 

care of their problems and 

proposing innovative service solutions up 

front determines whether we continue to 

sell to that customer,” says Mario Girelli, 

Managing Director of PRIM SpA. “In addition, 

it is important that the products we 

offer are state-of-the-art in terms of technology, 

performance and reliability. 

”Girelli believes this combination of 

proactive service and superior technology 

was the reason Konecranes products 

were selected recently by two high-profile 

industrial groups in Northern Italy 

whose existing fleet of lifting equipment 

had been purchased from German and 

Italian vendors. 

TESMEC GROUP and REGGIANI 

MACCHINE choose CXT quality 

and PRIM’s maintenance 

services 

TESMEC GROUP and REGGIANE MAC- 

CHINE are building a new production 

facility in Grassobbio near Bergamo consisting 

of three warehouses covering 

28,000 square meters, and plan to add 

another 6,000 square meter warehouse 

soon.Machinery assembly for both companies 

will be carried out at this new 

industrial complex, which also includes 

offices for management, technical design 

and sales. 

Konecranes supplied 31 overhead 

traveling cranes for the Bergamo facility, 

including single and double girder 

designs. The cranes are equipped with 

CXT hoist units in capacities of five, 10, 12 

and 20 tons, and will be used to handle 

goods in the production area, as well as 

receiving and shipping. The scope of supply 

also includes scheduled maintenance 

and parts for a period of 5+5 years. 

TESMEC GROUP is one of the leading 

Italian manufacturers of machines and 

tools for voltage lines and telecommunication 

lines suitable for stringing both 

overhead and underground cable. The 

company also manufactures digging 

machines used in difficult soil conditions 

including solid rock and equipment used 

in offshore applications. 

REGGIANI MACCHINE designs, manufactures 

and sells textile printing and textile 

ennobling machines. REGGIANI MAC- 

CHINE products are recognized by textile 

ennobling companies as top-tier solutions 

based on a very modern, high-technology 

platform. TESMEC GROUP is linked to 

REGGIANI MACCHINE as the source of its 

equity capital. 

CXT fits service center profile 

for leading international special 

steel distributor 

Italy is one of the most important mar- 

kets worldwide for special steel and high 

speed steel. Böhler Uddeholm Italia SpA 

initially purchased four KCI Konecranes 


9

CXT suspended cranes installed at Boehler Uddehlom Italia's Steel point service center in Milan. 

suspended single girder overhead travelling 

cranes equipped with CXT hoist units 

in 5 and 3,2 ton capacities for their Steel 

Point service center in Milan. Steel Point 

handles most of the orders collected from 

Italian customers by Böhler of Austria and 

Sweden’s Uddeholm, two of the world’s 

best known and highly regarded special 

steel brands. Together, they account for 

roughly 28 percent of the international 

tool steel market. The parent ownership 

group Böhler Uddeholm AG of Vienna, 

Austria is active on five continents, and its 

directly-controlled sales companies are 

among the world’s leaders in the special 

and tool steels business. 

Distribution of Böhler and Uddeholm 

division products ranging from tool and 

special steels to high speed steel is managed 

partially through exclusive dealers 

and partially direct to the customer.Both 

divisions require a high service level and 

short delivery time, which is why Steel 

Point operations run continuously from 

6:00 a.m. Monday – 6:00 p.m. Saturday 

with three daily shifts. To maintain customer 

expectations, all machinery including 

cranes must be ultra-reliable and able 

to operate continuously without failure. 

Due to the design of the Steel Point 

warehouse calling for bridge cranes to 


be suspended from the roof without support 

pillars, weight of the cranes was a 

major factor in selecting Konecranes CXT 

products. The warehouse has a span of 

36 meters, with the span divided in two 

sections of 18 meters each. For each section 

different cranes are in operation:four 

on the right side and one on each side of 

the left section. 

Other factors influencing Böhler Uddeholm 

Italia SpA’s decision to purchase 

Konecranes’ CXT cranes were its spacesaving 

design and reduced hook 

approach dimensions that enable it to 

operate very close to building walls. Standardization 

and the ability to interchange 

components with other CXT hoist units of 

different load capacities was also a factor. 

But it should be noted once again 

that the service capability of Prim SpA 

also helped make the difference – and 

the sale. Prim SpA was able to install the 

new cranes and 115 meters of runway in 

only two weeks during the month of 

August, during the customer’s normal 

summer shutdown. They also agreed to 

supply scheduled maintenance for three 

years. 

In the final analysis, the PRIM 

Konecranes’ product mix of reliability, 

flexibility, technology and service has 

proven to be profitable for both customer 

and supplier, as Böhler Uddeholm Italia 

SpA placed a new order for two additional 

CXT cranes as we went to press with 

this issue of Konecranes’ World. ■ 

Mario Girelli, 

Managing Director, 

Prim SpA 

www.primgru.com

CUTTING-EDGE PLASTICS MANUFACTURER 

RELIES ON CXT CRANES 

When German plastics manufacturer Konzelmann GmbH built its new 

manufacturing plant in 2001, their state-of-the art facility in Löchgau near 

Stuttgart was equipped with only one brand of lifting equipment – CXT 

Cranes from KCI Konecranes. Konecranes World asked Mr. Frank 

Greminger, Konzelmann’s plant manager, how the relationship with KCI 

Konecranes came about. 

Can you give us a brief background of 

Konzelmann, its development and products? 

Konzelmann is a mid-sized manufacturer 

of plastic products. The company is 

41 years old and is in its second generation 

of family ownership with about 90 

employees. We produce various types of 

plastic parts and products, mainly for the 

dental, pneumatics and automobile 

industries. Our specific know-how is in the 

fabrication of high precision plastic – it is 

our speciality. Konzelmann also has the 

reputation of being a strong development 

partner. Our customers work with us 

at a very early stage in the development 

of their new products. We do our own 

tool manufacturing and also have the 

engineering capacity to develop preseries 

tools and prototypes. 

How did you get into contact with KCI 

Konecranes? 

When we began planning our new 

factory building we were not aware of 

KCI Konecranes. However, the construction 

company we were working with had 

a strong track record of previous projects 

with KCI Konecranes. They introduced 

your company as a potential supplier for 

our cranes, which led to our first personal 

contact. 

Please describe your lifting needs and the 

specific requirements you had for a crane 

supplier. 

Our manufacturing process required 

cranes to service the plastic injection 

moulding machines for changing the 

tooling and tooling transportation. Cranes 

were also needed in the tooling manufacturing 

area to handle the tooling and 

half-finished products during fabrication. 

The two factory halls called for six 

cranes with spans of 18,71m and 11.14m 

and load handling capacity of one and 

two tons. In a very early stage of the planning 

process we prepared a detailed 

requirement specification for the cranes. 

It was important for us to purchase modern 

technology for all functions, but most 

of all we needed the maximum possible 

lifting height in order to get optimum 

usage of our factory interior. 

With these requirements, what were the 

primary reasons you selected KCI 

Konecranes as the supplier of your 

cranes? 

In building the new factory we wanted 

to focus our efforts on certain critical 

matters related to our manufacturing 

process. That’s why we wanted to rely on 

a dependable manufacturer who could 

provide good technology and above all 

straightforward and effortless project handling 

and delivery. During the planning 

phase the very competent guidance and 

support provided by KCI Konecranes convinced 

us that KCI Konecranes would fulfil 

these requirements. 

In dealing with the measurements and 

data required by the architect, advice for 

planning installation and start-up or technical 

questions, our needs were fully 

addressed at all times. As the financial 

and commercial factors of the offering 

were also in line with our requirements, we 

decided to select KCI Konecranes as our 

crane supplier. 

After the order was placed, what was 

your experience regarding delivery and 

performance of the cranes? 

The manner in which our order was 

handled and the practical co-operation 

we experienced during delivery proved to 

us that our decision in choosing the crane 

supplier was the right one. I can say that 

we are very satisfied with the initial planning 

and advice, the delivery and installation 

and now the after-sale service. We 

have also experienced quick response in 

solving any problem that arises, and spare 

parts delivery has been rapid. The service 

we have received from our KCI 

Konecranes representative has been and 

continues to be very good. The cranes 

have now been in operation for six 

months and we are absolutely satisfied. 

Mr. Greminger, thank you. We are glad to 

have you and your company as satisfied 

customers and we wish you continued 

success in your business. ■ 


W.R. Conrad, Sales Baden-Würtenberg 

Konecranes T&H GmbH 

www.konecranes.de 


11

Chain hoists – 

Onwards and 

Upwards! 

It is only a few years ago since the 

XN05, the first generation of XN 

electric chain hoists, appeared on the 

market. State-of-the art features, such 

as a combined brake and an 

overload slipping clutch assembly 

offered optimum levels of safety for 

operators. If a hoist was overloaded 

the slipping clutch would engage, 

and by releasing the button on the 

pendant, the load would remain in 

place – a feature not found on any of 

our competitors' chain hoists. 

The design of our hoist units is the 

result of the combined efforts of 

a number of KCI Konecranes 

teams whose experience and 

technological acumen has led 

to a revolution in the construction 

of chain hoists. Early efforts were a 

great success, and today three further 

frame sizes have been added to the 

range for capacities between 60 kg and 

7500 kg. KCI Konecranes now offers the 

most compact and complete range of 

electric chain hoists in the industry. 

However, technology cannot be 

allowed to stand still and KCI Konecranes’ 

research and development is already 

investigating possible adaptations and 

future applications such as a special 

chain hoist to cater for the windmill market. 

XN units are now being tailored for 

12 KONECRANES’ WORLD No 8

specific uses on a weekly basis -whether 

it’s mining in New Guinea or handling 

loads in a marine environment in Norway, 

chain hoists from Konecranes can provide 

the right solution. 

The Light Lifting Equipment Market – 

trends lead to positive changes 

Providing light lifting equipment for 

individual workstations equates to a higher 

long-term trend in demand on the market 

as a whole. KCI Konecranes products 

meet this demand by providing a large 

range of lifting equipment with vertical 

and horizontal movement to cater for 60 

to 7.500 kg loads. Such provision means 

that immediate advantages are gained 

in the safety of material handling, increasingly 

ergonomic working environments 

and a significant reduction in process 

times. 

“You might say we are the light part 

of the Group’s lifting capacity, but with a 

15% annual sales increase in this market 

segment, we are gaining more weight 

each day” Jean-Maxime Guhur, President 

of KCI Chain hoists says with a smile. 

XN chain hoists have not only revolutionised 

the world of Chain Lifting, but 

with advanced manufacturing processes, 

have contributed to even faster delivery 

times. We believe well-managed distribution 

is imperative in good customer service 

and this is exactly why Konecranes 

maintain an organisation with close customer 

relationships and local coverage. 

The Light Lifting Equipment range – 

making light work of material 

handling 

XN Electric chain hoists represent a 

compact solution for all lower and medium 

load hoisting applications. Perfectly 

adapted to industrial requirements, XN 

electric chain hoists use high technology 

for increased reliability and modern 

design for easy and ergonomic load handling. 

In applications where the importance 

of hygiene and safety in production 

is paramount, electric belt hoists are 

the ideal choice. Industries like food, agriculture, 

chemicals and precision industries 

all benefit from the inherent qualities 

of electric belt hoists. The XB Electric Belt 

hoist boasts many exclusive patented 

features to make it THE “clean hoist”: the 

polyester belt runs without grease and the 

stainless steel version is perfectly suited to 

the steamy conditions so often found in 

food production. 

KCI Konecranes’ XM workstation 

cranes are ideally suited for productive 

and ergonomic material handling in manufacturing 

and assembly operations 

where loads of up to 2000 kg have to be 

transported. XM cranes provide solutions 

for customers' exact load, span and operational 

requirements. Due to a modular 

design, XM also offers a flexible solution 

for the transportation of light loads 

between workstation units. Effortless load 

handling and monorail, single or double 

girder cranes, curves, turntables and 

switches mean tailor-made solutions are 

readily available. 

Jib Cranes are commonly used for 

load handling around machines or in 

confined spaces. 

Customised mechanical lifting at 

every workstation is often essential for efficient 

production and sufficient load handling 

capacity. KCI Konecranes supplies 

an extensive range of jib cranes for lifting 

capacities of 80 kg to 5000 kg equipped 

with chain or wire rope hoists. 

On the up, thanks to new improved 

product ranges 

We believe in maximising customer 

satisfaction and this is exactly the reason 

why our sales team is always on hand to 

reply to questions and inquiries. Whether 

it’s information about our product range 

or questions about special applications, 

we’re happy to help. KCI Konecranes’ 

engineers are constantly studying market 

requirements to provide the appropriate 

technology for the specific application. 

Standardised solutions are modified to suit 

different applications and new innovative 

products are developed. 

Thanks to our on-line tools selecting 

and configuring the lifting systems is now 

easier than ever. Once selected and configured 

requests for lifting systems can 

then be forwarded to the closest local 

sales contact for a quotation. Next, a KCI 

Konecranes representative will make 

immediate contact to provide the necessary 

information. We are committed to 

constantly updating and improving our 

on-line tools and see them as a highly 

important customer service measure. 

Despite a tough market situation 

where many suppliers are experiencing 

difficulties we have experienced a period 

of growth. Our success, we believe, is 

attributed to constant developments in 

our product offerings. New products and 

wider ranges make it easier for our customers 

– a greater choice from one supplier. 

■ 


Jean-Maxime Guhur, President, 

KCI Chain Hoists 

Tel. +33 2 3738 9595, Fax +33 2 3738 9623 


13

CORPORATE NEWS 

Konecranes VLC has received a 

number of new orders for Rubber 

Tyred Container Handling Gantry 

Cranes (RTG's) from North and Central 

America during the first months of 2003. 


CORPORATE NEWS CORPORATE NEWS 

KONECRANES VLC IS GOING STRONG IN RTG's 

Two of the three RTG’s delivered to PSA Sines Terminal in Portugal 2002. 

To strengthen the market position in 

the large Korean hoist and industrial 

crane market KCI Konecranes established 

in the beginning of 2003 a new 

company Konecranes (KOREA) Co.,Ltd. 

The President of the company is Mr. 

Hyong Duk Choi. The sales office is located 

is Soul and headoffice and logistics 

center is in Kimhae in the southern part of 

Korea close to Pusan. ■ 

Mr. Hyong Duk Choi, President 

1003 , Byongdong-Ri, Hallim-Meyon, Kimhae City, 

Kyongsangnam-Do (Kyongnam). 

621-873.Korea 

hdchoi@konecranes.co.kr 

Majority of the cranes will be made in 

Europe and delivered to site fully erected. 

The customers are APM Terminals (Elizabeth, 

New Jersey and Houston, Texas), 

Maryland Port Authority (Baltimore), Geor- 

New company established in Korea 

gia Port Authority (Savannah), and Operadora 

Portuaria de Manzanillo (Mexico). 

The total number of new cranes is 27. 

All of above are repeat orders, which 

indicates that our customers have been 

very satisfied with the earlier deliveries. 

Konecranes VLC has gained the number 

one position in the world amongst the 

high capacity RTG suppliers. All new generation 

Konecranes RTG’s are with 16 

wheels and have no hydraulics in them. 

High performance is achieved with 

Konecranes’ state-of-the art Active Load 

Control System and Konecranes’ AC drives. 

Typically the cranes have been specified 

for 50 LT lifting capacity, with oneover-five 

lifting height and a span of sixplus-truck 

lane. 

All these features give following advantages 

to the operator: 

• More productivity (boxes / hour) 

• No need for special reinforced runways 

• Low fuel consumption 

• Low level of pollution 

• costs 

These new orders bring the total number 

of Konecranes' RTG's to 153. ■

CORPORATE NEWS CORPORATE NEWS CORPORATE NEWS 

KCI KONECRANES INTO JAPAN 

In April 2003 KCI Konecranes closed the 

agreement with Meidensha Corporation 

of Japan (part of the Sumitomo 

Sphere) to become joint venture partners 

in Japan. 

“Meiden being the most well-known 

and the oldest hoist brand in Japan and 

KCI Konecranes the world leader in 

advanced hoisting technology the combination 

of the two will create a strong 

and paramount player in the domestic 

Japanese market”, conclude Mr. Kataoka, 

President of Meidensha Corporation 

and Mr. Gustavson, President of the KCI 

Konecranes Group. 

KCI Konecranes owns 49 % of the Joint 

Venture’s shares, Meiden Hoist System 

Company Ltd (MHS). 

Under the Joint venture partnership 

MHS has introduced to the Japanese 

market a new hoist range based on 

Konecranes technology. The technology 

has been adjusted to meet with local 

Konecranes America Inc. has the 

contract to supply two key hot metal 

cranes and a service crane to 

Nucor’s steel mini-mill in Jewett, Texas, 

USA. This transaction marks the first time 

Nucor has bought from KCI Konecranes, 

and the first time an American steelmaker 

has purchased hot metal cranes featuring 

industry standards and technical specifications. 

The MHS headquarters and manufacturing 

plant are located in Nagoya. ■ 

EAST CHINA SEA 

YELLOW 

SEA 

For more information, please visit: 

www.konecranes.com 

Sasebo 

Gotò-Rettò Nagasaki 

Kyùshù 

Tsushima 

Kitakyùshù 

Osumi-Shoto 

Hiroshima 

Òita 

Kumamoto 

Kagoshima 

Oki-Shotò 

Okayam 

a 

SEA OF 

JAPAN 

Matsuyama 

Kòchi 

Shikoku 

Honshù 

Kanazawa 

Sodo-Shima 

Toyama 

Gifu 

Okushiri-Tò 

JAPAN 

Kiso 

Rebun-Tò 

Nagano 

Rishiri-Tò 

Hokkaidò 

Sapporo 

Aomori 

Akita 

Niigata 

Tone 

Kòbe Kyòto 

Nagoy 

a Shizuoka 

Hamamatsu 

Osaka 

Wakayama 

KCI KONECRANES DELIVERS HOT METAL 

CRANES TO NUCOR STEEL 

AC variable frequency motors, which 

offer significant maintenance savings 

over traditional DC controls. 

Nucor is building a new melt shop to 

Jewett steel mill, which will include a new 

Truck transportation from Hyvinkaa works to 

Mäntyluoto port, port of Pori. Trolley width 

occupied whole width of road. Transportation 

required special arrangements and about 250 

km (160 ml.) transportation took 12 hours. 

Wakkanai 

Asahikawa 

Hakodat 

e 

Sendai 

Kòriyama 

Iwaki 

Utsunomiya 

TOKYO 

Yokohama 

PACIFIC 

OCEAN 

Morioka 

Abashiri 

Nemur 

o 

Kushiro 

The trolley for the Charge crane on the final test 

run with Nucor team present in Hyvinkää KCI 

Special Cranes works before shipping to 

Houston. 

ladle crane, charge crane and a caster 

service crane supplied by KCI 

Konecranes. The charge crane is a CMAA 

Class “F” crane rated at 200 tons with two 

auxiliary hoists rated at 75 and 25 tons. 

The ladle crane is essentially the same 

configuration without the 25-ton auxiliary. 

The caster maintenance crane is rated at 

100 tons with a 35-ton auxiliary. All three 

cranes feature innovative AC drive systems 

with variable frequency controls and 

WLAN diagnostics. The cranes also feature 

numerous safety systems to safeguard 

both employees and production. ■ 


15

CORPORATE NEWS 

Pilkington keeps 

the glass moving, 

thanks to outsourced crane servicing 

Australia’s premier glass manufacturer 

has achieved very low levels of 

downtime in the crucial despatch 

department at its major 

manufacturing site in Victoria 

following the signing of a 

comprehensive crane maintenance 

agreement with Konecranes. 

Pilkington (Australia) has a total of 

about 60 cranes at its site in Dandenong, 

with ten of these cranes in 

production areas and about a dozen in 

despatch. 

“We are hugely dependent on our lifting 

equipment,” said Dandenong site 

despatch manager Mark Forbes. “We 

freight about 110,000 tonnes of glass a 

year and if we lose a crane, despatch 

stops. We simply can’t afford downtime. 

And in fact it’s now quite rare to have 

any.” 

Pilkington makes many types of glass 

products at Dandenong, including auto 

glass, laminated safety glass, mirrors, 

annealed glass for windows, and glass 

panels for sliding doors. The plant manufactures 

around the clock, every day of 

the year, although downstream functions 

such as warehousing and despatch work 

to more normal hours, operating a morning 

shift and an evening shift. 

The despatch department at Dandenong 

has one 25 tonne crane, with the 


CORPORATE NEWS CORPORATE NEWS 

remainder ranging in capacity from 7 

tonnes down to 3.2 tonnes. Most are overhead 

hoists that track across the ceiling 

of the warehouse, remotely controlled by 

radio. 

“Our servicing has not only reduced 

downtime, but more importantly has 

identified areas where Pilkington’s equipment 

could be upgraded to improve its 

performance,” said Brad Leckie, Victoria 

and Tasmania branch manager for 

Konecranes, which manages the three-

CORPORATE NEWS CORPORATE NEWS CORPORATE NEWS 

year-old crane maintenance contract at They also attend to any breakdowns and 

the site. 

can be here on site within an hour. There 

“For example, we have installed two are no ‘issues’ in our contract with 

new hoists as well as production cranes. Konecranes,” he said. 

We also installed accessories such as Using its experience with more than 

radio controls that 

200,000 cranes of all 

replaced manual pen- 

makes worldwide, 

dants, a Dynahoist to 

Konecranes’ inspection 

enable matching speeds 

and assessment proce- 

on hoists, and travel 

dures are based on the 

inverters to improve 

premise that systematic 

crane performance and 

and regular preventive 

handling. 

inspections of equip- 

“As well, we created 

ment are the key to 

exclusion zones for the 

safe, reliable and cost- 

cranes, to automatically 

effective performance. 

lock them out of produc- 

“We are continually 

tion or warehousing 

addressing the potential 

areas that they shouldn’t 

downtime issues for 

travel into,” he said. 

clients through our regu- 

Before Konecranes’ 

lar assessments and ser- 

contract with Pilkington, 

vicing,” said Mr Leckie of 

the glass makers man- Mr Brad leckie, Victoria and Tasmania Konecranes. 

aged crane mainte- 

Branch Manager of Konecranes. 

“The programmes 

nance work themselves 

applied to Pilkington’s 

but found advantages in outsourcing to Dandenong site are designed to go 

specialists. 

beyond preventive and predictive main- 

“Our arrangement with Konecranes tenance, to a top-tier solution of reliabili- 

means we now need to spend less ty-based maintenance management. 

resources on maintenance planning and The service agreement integrates 

management. They do all that for us. We Konecranes’ expertise with Pilkington’s 

also require fewer engineers on site. In own, to achieve the best blend of on-site 

fact, most manufacturing companies of and outsourced knowledge.” 

our size will outsource their maintenance Konecranes has more than 100 spe- 

work for these reasons,” Mr Forbes said. cialists in commissioning and mainte- 

“Konecranes inspect and maintain to nance at 24 locations throughout Aus- 

the Australian Standard, prioritising work tralia and New Zealand. ■ 

that needs doing and reporting to us regularly. 

They’ll make suggestions if we have 


Mr Edward Yakos, Managing Director, 

any problems and are very good at providing 

quotes for repairs or upgrades. 

Konecranes Pty Ltd 

edward.yakos@konecranes.com 

CRANE LAUGH 

KCI Konecranes is one of the 

sponsors of the EFQM Forum 

2003, 8–10 October, Finland with 

the theme “Inspired People Drive 

Success”. KCI Konecranes is continuously 

investing in Performance 

Excellence and Quality 

in its activities. The EFQM, European 

Foundation for Quality 

Management, is a European 

Quality organisation dedicated 

to assist organisations throughout 

Europe to participate in activities 

leading ultimately to excellence 

in customer and employee satisfaction, 

impact on society and 

achieving global competitive 

advantage. 

www.efqmforum2003.org 


17

SLEQ NEWS SLEQ NEWS SLEQ NEWS SLEQ NEWS SLEQ NEWS 

The new RemoC radio 

control is designed for 

ergonomic and 

productive use 

RemoC is handy to use and carry as 

the transmitter’s strap gives a perfect 

grip. All operating elements are located 

in the front panel of the transmitter ensuring 

that each function is easily located – 

even in a rushed/emergency situation. 

The extremely fine touch provided by sensitive 

2-step pushbuttons ensure easy and 

safe speed control. RemoC’s new frequency 

sharing technology offers flexibility 

because two or three cranes can use 

the same frequency without disturbing 

each other. 

All RemoC system parameters are 

stored in a unique microchip. In case of 

mechanical damage to the transmitter 

the chip can be moved to a sparetrans- 

ControlPro for increased safety 

and performance control 

ControlPro is an unique and 

advanced electronic control 

device, which measures, calculates, 

monitors and controls the performance, 

safety and condition of the crane. It 

makes the crane easier and more safe to 

operate. 

Basic overload protection and intermediate 

load limits programmable 

according to application requirements 

increase personnel safety. In high temperature 

environments and exceptional 

peak usage situations additional performance 

guarantee is provided by constant 

temperature control and thermal 


LATEST 

N E W S 

mitter. The remote control of the 

crane can continue immediately 

without any new setup of the 

system. 

RemoC is designed for control of 

cranes with one hoist and three 

movements. 

The model RemoC Optic is made 

for the control of cranes with two hoists 

and provides interactive communication 

with KCI Konecranes crane safety and 

performance control system ControlPro. 

Constant information of the load being 

lifted as well as information on crane performance 

and usage can be read from 

the display. ■ 

protection of the hoisting motor. 

Versatile data about the actual 

usage of the hoist and crane makes planning 

of maintenance easier. KCI 

Konecranes pendant and radio controls 

can be equipped with displays to bring 

crane usage and condition information 

down to the production and maintenance 

personnel. This saves time and 

enhances safety awareness. Cranes with 

several hoists can be equipped with a 

ContrlPro system, which continuously 

monitors the accumulate load handled 

by each hoists and protects the lifting of 

too heavy loads. ■


KONEDUCTOR power supply systems 

KONEDUCTOR power supply system has 

now two alternative model ranges. 

KONEDUCTOR power supply with continuous 

copper conductors is ideal for 

long track lenghts and high capacity systems. 

It is available in unlimited track 

lenghts and can be installed both indoors 

and outdoors under widely varying 

weather conditions. Due to the compact 

design the system requires minimal space. 

The copper conductors carrying the electricity 

are inside the plastic housing and 

Hoisting in hazardous 

environments – New 

explosion-proof 

CXT wire rope hoist 

To further strengthen our position as a supplier to chemical and 

petro-chemical plants, oil refineries, gas power plants and other 

applications operating in hazardous environments, KCI Konecranes 

has developed the new explosion-proof CXTex wire rope hoist range. 

This new line of hoists is characterised by 

high performance and high standard 

of safety. Its innovative and compact 

design provides maximum utilisation of 

factory space. 

The advanced explosion proof technology 

is based upon European standards 

and the components are tested 

and approved by independent notified 

all components are designed for safe use. 

The advantage of KONEDUCTOR-X 

premounted bars is quick installation and 

easy modification. Joining of two bars 

and fixing them to the hangers does not 

require any screws or tools. Extension and 

replacing of single bars between any joint 

is fast and easy. The design provides free 

expansion of the copper strip and plastic 

housing. Copper strips are connected 

with a copper clamp. During temperature 

changes the clamp allows the cop- 

LATEST 

N E W S 

bodies. The new hoist range is also 

designed to meet the recent ATEX Directives 

that became mandatory July 1, 

2003. The most standard ex-proof classification 

for CXTex is EEX de IIB T4 but EEX de 

IIC T4 is also available. 

Currently CXTexhoists are available for 

loads up to 40 ton lifting capacity, with 

higher capacities available later in 2003. 

per ends to move closer or wider from 

each other without effecting the reliable 

current connection. ■ 

For more information please visit us at: 

www.konecranes.com 

Jari Jalkanen, Electric’s Product & Engineering 

Manager, KCI Hoists Corporation 

Jari.jalkanen@konecranes.com 

KCI Konecranes’ explosion proof 

product line also includes industrial and 

jib cranes, electric chain hoists and belt 

hoists. ■ 

Veijo Mattila, Sales Manager, 

Ex-proof Products, KCI Hoists Corporation 

veijo.mattila@konecranes.com 


19


PULP & PAPER 

KCI Konecranes uses CXT hoists to 

modernise a critical maintenance crane 

for Georgia-Pacific Finland Oy 

Crane K3882was originally delivered 

to Georgia-Pacific's Nokia mill in 

1971. Commissioned as a 

maintenance crane for the wet end of 

the paper machine, its main function 

was to replace the paper machine's 

drums. Because it was also the spare 

unit for the dry end’s tambour crane, 

K3882 was a critical element of the 

production process, which focuses on 

soft paper products such as napkins 

and tissue. 

Despite regular maintenance the 

crane was becoming increasingly 

unreliable due to aging components. 

Repairs to the old UN3 hoists were not 

practical or cost-effective because 

replacement parts were becoming obsolete, 

causing Georgia-Pacific to take one 

of the crane's three hoists completely out 

of service. Replacement of only one trolley 

was not possible because the hoists 

were used together and hoisting speeds 

had to be similar. Also, Georgia-Pacific 

required creep speed to be as slow as 

possible to ensure safe operation. In order 

to turn this situation around, Konecranes 

recommended that all three hoists be 

replaced. 

Scope of modernisation 

The scope of the modernisation 

included three complete new CXT trolleys, 

frequency controls for the hoist and 

trolley and new festoon cables. The existing 

frequency controls for the bridge drives 

and the radio controls were to be 


retained and incorporated into the new 

control system. Konecranes was asked to 

submit a proposal for the new equipment 

and a detailed plan for its installation. 

Crane down-time to carry out the modernisation 

had to be kept to an absolute 

minimum to avoid disrupting Georgia- 

Pacific's production. 

The Konecranes solution 

As the project got underway, the 

main issue for the customer was installation 

time. Konecranes developed a plan 

involving careful co-operation with Georgia-Pacific's 

production schedule which 

allowed them to continue using the crane 

during installation, reducing the total shutdown 

time to only eight hours. To make 

this feasible, all the new equipment was 

tested and connected over a two-day 

period in the hoist factory before it was 

shipped to the Nokia mill. 

Olli Riipanen, the Konecranes Nordic 

electrician who conducted the factory 

tests also supervised installation at the site 

to ensure a smooth transition. The crane's


existing hoists remained operational during 

the one-week installation period while 

the new control components, including 

bridge panel, festoon cables and pendant 

station were mounted at the other 

end of the crane. During the final part of 

the hookup, the crane was shut down 

completely for eight hours while the old 

bridge inverter was replaced with the 

new panel and the existing radio control 

and main power were reconnected. 

When the project was complete, 

Konecranes' promise to limit Georgia- 

Pacific's downtime to only eight hours 

without the crane in operation was fulfilled. 

Thorough preparation, ongoing 

communication with the customer and 

extensive tests prior to delivery made that 

possible. Konecranes also supplied Georgia-Pacific 

with updated documentation 

and wiring diagrams to help expedite 

future maintenance. 

According to Product Manager for 

Industrial Cranes and Components Pentti 

Mäkelä, Konecranes' close relationship 

with the customer was key to being able 

to satisfy their needs. 

“We have a service agreement at the 

Nokia mill and are very familiar with how 

Georgia-Pacific manages their equipment 

and production process,” says 

Mäkelä. “When we promised that we 

would limit their shutdown to only eight 

hours, they trusted us. If you understand 

the tremendous cost of downtime in the 

paper industry, then you can also appreciate 

the value of that trust.” ■ 


Pentti Mäkelä, project manager, 

Industrial Cranes and Components 

KCI Hoists Corporation 

pentti.makela@konecranes.com 

Technical specifications 

• 3 CXT 20 000 kg hoists mounted on 

double girder trolleys 

• Maximum load of modernized crane 

with load summation 25 000 kg 

• Hoisting speed 4 m/min variable 

(DynALift2L015V) 

• Traversing speed 25 m/min variable 

(DynAMove2T) 

• New bridge panel, festoon cables 

and pendant station 

• Revised wiring diagrams incorporating 

existing components 

Delivery of the 5000th EOT 

Crane in Austria 

In the first quarter of 2003 Konecranes 

delivered the 5000th EOT crane in Austria 

to Gruber & Kaja Druckguß- und Metallwarenfabrik 

GmbH in Traun, Upper Austria. 

Gruber & Kaja is an important supplier 

of die-cast products to the automotive 

industry. The crane will be used to erect 

and maintain the die-cast machinery, 

also to change and move the castingmoulds. 

Gruber & Kaja and KCI Konecranes 

look back on more than 20 years of 

cooperation. In the early days, when the 

original plant was located in the city center 

of Traun, Konecranes was already supplying 

the hoists and cranes for the facility. 

In 2001 Gruber & Kaja expanded its 

operations and built a new die-cast plant 

in St. Marien, close to Traun. 

In this first stage of the expansion, a 20 

ton crane from Konecranes was installed 

and taken into operation in the die-cast 

works. At the beginning of 2003 the company 

continued its expansion program 

and again chose Konecranes products 

for their die-cast plant. The crane supplied 

by Konecranes handles a load of up 

New Industrial Crane Plant in 

Germany supplying Central 

Europe 

KCI Konecranes opened in September 

2002 a state-of-the-art Industrial Crane 

plant in Liebengrün, Germany. 

The plant is constructed for manufacturing 

of box girder cranes up to crane 

spans of 30 meters and lifting capacity up 

to 100 tons. It is equipped with most mod- 

to 20 t and has a span of 20.9 m. It has a 

stepless trolley and bridge drive, which is 

standard on CXT cranes and offers great 

advantages to the user, especially for the 

handling of the extremely expensive castings-moulds. 

In addition, the crane is 

operated with a Konecranes Remox 

remote radio control, which allows the 

operator to move freely when handling 

the moulds. 

We are very proud at Konecranes to 

have been chosen again to work with 

Gruber & Kaja and that we were able to 

meet their high requirements with regards 

to quality of product, order processing 

and delivery time. ■ 

ern production methods, new logistic 

concept and IT solutions to guarantee 

high efficiency and flexibility for a volume 

of 1000 box girders per year. 

In this plant Konecranes manufactures 

industrial cranes for the Central European 

market. ■ 


21

@ KONECRANES KNOW-HOW 

A Saga of Drums 

and Wire Ropes 

The innovative wire rope hoist range 

came about as a result of an in-depth 

market and technology study carried 

out between 1998 – 99 in which KCI 

Konecranes established that a high 

performance, space saving design 

could be utilised in a new generation 

of hoisting devices. They had to be 

strong and reliable with easy load 

handling characteristics. New 

customer requirements dictated a 

need for new technologies and 

feedback echoed both their 

requirements and their ideas for new 

products. 

All our competitors had wire rope 

hoists that followed a very similar 

design. The designs were influenced 

by industrial standards governing 

wire rope hoist design and by the type of 

wire ropes available at the time. In the 

past 20 years new developments in wire 

rope technology meant that much heavier 

loads could be lifted with same diameter 

of wire rope. For safety reasons, industry 

standards specified the minimum ratio 

between the rope and hoist drum diameter. 

Such factors resulted in hoist designs 

all having close to the minimal drum 

diameter to fulfil the safety requirements 

whilst at the same time, limiting costs,” 

says Ari Kiviniitty, Managing Director of 

KCI Hoists Corporation. 

KCI beats with a different drum 

KCI Konecranes came up with the 

revolutionary and inherently simple concept 

of using a large diameter drum in 


Two motor design for additional safety. 

order to optimise space. The use of a 

large drum alone would lead to space 

limitations however; the new drum was 

designed to actually incorporate the 

motor internally. A larger drum with an 

internally mounted motor constitutes the 

optimum use of space – the large circumference 

drum was born. 

Many advantages were immediately 

apparent when using a short, fat drum. 

For instance, the horizontal travel of the 

hook during lowering is minimal, which 

means loads are easier to position. Furthermore, 

the rope’s life is also increased 

due to being coiled around a larger 

diameter drum. A drum with double the 

diameter of traditional designs means 

greater longevity for the rope. As the new 

design is also narrower, the hoist can be 

positioned much closer to factory walls 

and floor space can be bettered utilised. 

Clearance can also be optimised, both 

on the floor and the ceiling. Ultimately, 

even smaller buildings can be built. 

Control – a key factor 

Inverter control was a key factor in 

the development of new wire hoists as, 

previously, there was only two or even 

one speed, which caused the loads to 

swing. The new inverter works like an 

automatic gearbox speeding up and 

slowing down gradually. This stepless 

speed feature and smooth movement 

used to be an option but now this is standard 

across our range – much to the disappointment 

of our competitors. 

The reason this feature became standardised 

was because production volumes 

allowed us to offer the inverter control 

feature across the product range – 

the large amount of time and money 

invested in this kind of technology had 

paid off. Consequently, this is now a feature 

that customers expect when looking 

for new cranes and wire rope hoists. A further 

advantage of using Konecranes 

products is that, unlike our smaller competitors, 

we are able to use high volume 

components due to the modular design 

of the product range. This in turn leads to 

improved reliability. 

Planes, cranes and automobiles 

Wire rope hoists are used in numerous 

end products i.e. industrial cranes, jib 

cranes, monorail systems and fixed positioned 

hoists, so KCI’s whole volume 

could be utilised. 

The new wire rope hoists now cover all 

KCI’s product platforms to deal with differing 

loads, using four different drum 

diameters to cover six frame sizes. The 

largest of KCI’s wire rope hoists, designed 

for a load handling capacity of up to 80 

tons, have motors positioned outside the 

drum however space and height are still 

optimised as a result of their side by side 

configuration. 

Two motors, like in aeroplanes, means 

additional safety and reliability because if 

one stops the machine does not come to 

a halt. In fact the machine can be used 

with lighter loads when using our electronic 

control system limiting the maximum 

load to half the total capacity. If a brake

The innovative CXT technology provides superior benefits. 

fails there is another brake in the other 

motor and, let’s face it, buying one backup 

motor is cheaper than one huge 

motor. The load distribution to the motors 

is critical and this was tested thoroughly 

and studied with the most advanced 

computer modelling available. KCI 

Konecranes’ R&D utilised very advanced 

modelling and calculation tools in designing 

the new hoist range – an investment 

which brings our customers the ultimate in 

safety and reliability. 

The CXT hoist range is designed 

using advanced modelling and stress 

calculation tools ensuring ultimate reliability. 

In terms of construction, our steel parts 

in smaller frames are pressed parts like in 

the automotive industry, or to use the official 

term “deep drawn.” KCI’s production 

volumes mean we can invest in tooling 

and therefore offer customers better value 

for money and consistent high quality. 

Higher performance for price is what we 

are aiming for and inverters as standard 

are a good example of our commitment 

to providing industry-leading products. 

Our technology also means that we can 

easily replace old hoists running on old 

steel crane structures as we utilise a smaller 

trolley with greatly improved features, 

speeds and controllability. 

Timed to perfection 

Kiviniitty goes on to say, “modular pro- 

duction platforms mean that solutions 

can be tailor made and our construction 

methods are such that we can make special 

adjustments to suit the customer's 

needs while still using standard volume 

parts. We use advanced computer programs 

to design and calculate the best 

solution for customers' specific material 

handling requirements.” 

“Our delivery times are the best in the 

world due to modularity and flexibility in 

production combined with a global market 

presence. In addition to actually coming 

up with the ideas, we had to spend 

millions on developing such revolutionary 

designs. As KCI Konecranes is now 

approaching 20.000 units sold worldwide, 

we think the timing for our R&D efforts was 

perfect.” ■ 

Ari kiviniitty, Managing Director, 

KCI Hoists Corporation 

ari.kiviniitty@kcigroup.com 


23

CORPORATE 

FIGURES 

Maintenance 

Services 

372.4 MEUR 

47 % 

Sales* by Business Area 

Asia-Pacific 

70.9 MEUR 

10 % 

Total Sales 713.6 MEUR 

* Including internal sales 

Sales by Market* 

Americas 

242.4 MEUR 

34 % 

General 

Manufacturing 

22 % 

Steel & other 

warehousing 

3 % 

Transport, 

Shipping 

1 % 

Shipyards 11 % 

Sales by Industry 

Standard 

Lifting 

Equipment 

204.5 MEUR 

26 % 

Nordic and 

Eastern Europe 

179.4 MEUR 

25 % 

EU 

(without Nordic) 

220.9 MEUR 

31 % 

Personnel By Business Area 

Maintenance 

Services 

2,698 

62% 

Special Cranes 

209.2 MEUR 

27 % 

Petrochemical 

Automotive 4 % 3 % Construction 

2 % 

Harbours 11 % 

1 % 

Refuse 

Handling 

Special Cranes 

685 

15% 

Others 

6 % 

Pulp and Paper 

9 % 

Power Plants 

6 % 

Headquart 

Staff 

109 

2% 

Resellers 

9 % 

OEM 

Crane Builders 

3 % 

Primary Metals 

9 % 

Standard 

Lifting 

Equipment 

949 

21% 

KCI KONECRANES GROUP 

AT A GLANCE 

PLEASE 

NOTE! 

Our new company name is 

KCI Konecranes Plc 

SE 

Headquarters: 

KCI KONECRANES PLC 

P.O.Box 661 • FIN-05801 Hyvinkää • Finland 

Tel +358 (0)20 427 11 • Fax +358 (0)20 427 2099 www.konecranes.com 

VS 008 . ONEPARTNER/SP-PAINO OY 6/2003

Konecranes World №8

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