Condra contest finds oldest working crane still operating after 48 years
SHANE Cox and Lizelle Baillie of Heavy Duty Lifting have won Condra’s competition to find the company’s oldest working crane. They entered a 10-ton, double-girder electric overhead travelling crane that was manufactured at Condra’s Elsburg factory 48 years ago and is still operating today.
Baillie and Cox, who carry out all service and maintenance on this particular machine, identified their veteran crane from a database of serviced installations and it was determined as still in use. Verification by Condra confirmed the entry as factory Works Order 1935, the oldest of all submitted entries.
Second place went to a crane commissioned shortly after: Works Order 1970.
Condra’s contest ran for eight months ahead of their Diamond Jubilee celebrations held in July. The idea was to showcase product durability and lower lifetime cost, which Condra claimed to be the result of robust manufacture and crane design more carefully aligned to each application when compared with Far Eastern imports. The contest was open to hoists, new cranes and refurbished machines.
Condra received the winners at an open day marking the company’s 60th birthday. One hundred and eighty-five guests attended, among them delegates to a complementary event, the Lifting Equipment Engineering Association of South Africa (LEEASA) conference.
Several suppliers took the opportunity to display products to groups touring the Condra factory.
One of the entries to the contest was a refurbished Condra machine manufactured and delivered more than 40 years ago.
A speech highlighted the viability of upgrading veteran cranes to modern, fit-for-purpose standard, and also emphasised the contribution made to machine efficiency by spare parts availability and regular servicing. Condra spares are manufactured locally, obviating the sometimes-lengthy lead times associated with imported parts.
Condra was founded in 1966, moving to its current 9 000m² Gosforth Park factory in 2008. The 22 000m² site allows for ample expansion. The group comprises eight entities across South Africa, Chile and Bulgaria, with a focus on the design and manufacture of cranes up to and including heavy duty Class 4.
There is an emphasis on product quality and reliability as the foundation of ongoing growth and an extensive service network supports all installed machines.
Cranes are designed and assembled to specification from hoists, drives, end-carriages, brakes, gearboxes and 250 other component parts manufactured in-house. Only motors, rope and bottom blocks (hooks) are imported.
