The case for crane refurbishment
REPLACING an overhead crane is costly. There is capital expenditure. There is risk. Not only must the buyer consider the scale of financial outlay, but also any possibility of equipment underperformance, or failure. The watchwords are care and caution.
One viable option, often overlooked, is refurbishment.
If the function of the crane has not changed, then refurbishment offers at least three advantages: cost savings; improved crane performance (through newer, faster hoists); and operator familiarity.
This is because modern refurbishment programmes go beyond basic repairs. They integrate updated controls, safety systems, drives and automation technologies to bring older cranes up to or beyond current performance and compliance standards.
Condra, a leading South African manufacturer of cranes and hoists, offers a comprehensive crane refurbishment service, as well as the design and manufacture of new cranes. Recent refurbishments have included machines as old as 40 years, installed and recommissioned with the same warranty as a new crane.
The familiarity factor, not as obvious as cost savings and improved crane performance, cannot be overemphasised as a leading advantage of refurbishment. The continued use of an as-new machine already familiar to operators avoids any need for retraining. Production can continue as before, with no change to established procedures.
If tempted to buy new, the buyer should ask about shipping times of component parts, should a breakdown occur, as delays could result in costly production downtime.
Condra will incorporate any kind of modern technology the customer might specify to upgrade the crane’s capabilities. The overall cost of refurbishment is almost always less than buying a new crane.
Usually, Condra refurbishes only its own cranes, because spare parts from rival firms are not always available and are expensive to import, whereas Condra manufactures all spares locally.
“If the crane is one of ours, then refurbishment is usually worthwhile,” said the spokesman. “We encourage it because new crane prices are about 60% higher today than they were ten years ago. If needed, we can change crane capacity and span. Even cranes twenty years old or more can usually be improved by installing variable frequency drives for smoother acceleration and deceleration. We can also fit enhancements such as remote control, and a digital read-out
on the load.
“So, by refurbishing we deliver back to the customer a crane much faster and lighter than before, and we can automate it, too, upgrading the mechanicals to work with new electrical equipment.”
