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Andrew Pimblett, managing director of Street Crane Company and Gustavo Delgado Pilares, CEO of Movitecnica, Peru’s largest and most dynamic industrial crane supplier, have cause to celebrate. Following a trading partnership agreement, both companies are in an exceptional position to benefit from Peru’s expanding economy.
Andrew explained, “Peru is a country of 30 million people, with enormous mineral wealth, that is in the premier league of high growth nations. Movitecnica is a company that has positioned itself to service the core industries such as mining and the industrial infrastructure supplying cranes and conveyors for minerals. The total crane market in Peru has grown from $8 million in 2009 to over $25 million in 2012, so the potential is huge. We will be supplying from the UK our ZX hoists for lifting needs up to 50 tonnes and VX heavy duty hoists for handling loads up to 200 tonnes.”
Street Crane’s extensive experience in supplying cranes and hoists for the mining industry and its support infrastructure was crucial to the deal. The company is already successful in Australia, Canada and South Africa where their robust and proven hoist designs give reliable service in the dusty and aggressive atmospheres and extremes of temperature common to mining and mineral processing.
“Mines are often hundreds of miles from cities so engineers need to be self-sufficient to keep plant running, this makes hoist design crucial. Street Crane hoists have unique features especially relevant in mining,” Andrew observed. “The open design of the Street hoist means that components can be easily accessed for inspection and service. Components can be removed and replaced without lowering the hoist to the ground for dis-assembly.”
Uniquely, in the standard wire rope hoist market, Street hoist brakes act on a hoist gearbox shaft not an extended motor shaft. This design also gives lower operating temperatures in the hoist motor because the heat generated by the hoist brake does not soak into the hoist motor. This provides significantly enhanced safety and maintainability compared to competitor hoists.
Other details such as the easily adjustable brake and provision of an inspection cover on the gear box make a vital difference to the time required for servicing, ensuring continuity of production. A heavy duty rope guide allied to a cast phosphor bronze sliding mechanism on the hoists prevents dust build-up, even with difficult materials like cement and magnetic ores. The rope guide clamps the rope in position as it is reeled into the drum, preventing slippage in the event of slack roping and preventing potentially expensive damage to both the rope and barrel. This feature, originally just available on hoists used in mining and other dusty environments, is now standard on all Street Crane hoists.
By eliminating complex black box control electronics and the use of standard switchgear, Street hoists are more reliable and easily repaired on-site by any qualified electrical engineer. This is a vital consideration for continuity of operation.
Finally, the Street Crane ZX Hoist design incorporates gearing which is fully enclosed in an oil filled gearbox on both hoist and travel motions. Other leading brands have external gears on hoist and travel mechanisms which are not suited to dusty or polluted environments.
Movitecnica engineers will be visiting the Street Crane factory in Derbyshire in coming weeks for familiarisation with the equipment. Company engineers will also be regularly visiting Lima to give on-going support.
