05.07.2010

Big fleet expansion for ALE

Global heavy transport and lifting company ALE is making substantial additions to its global fleet including a second AL.SK190, its 4,300 tonne capacity ultra heavy lifting crane which will be completed in the second half of 2011.

The AL.SK190 - claimed to be the world’s largest land-based crane - has a load moment of 190,000 tonne metres, a 141 metre main boom and a 32.1 metre ballast radius also features a 600 tonne quick winch system for lifting smaller items quickly.
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ALE is adding a second 4,3000 tonne capacity AL.SK190 to its fleet

“The introduction of the AL.SK190 has given the industry lifting capacities far in excess of anything thought possible,” said Michael Birch, executive director at ALE Projects. “Even now, two years after it was first launched, no other machine has even come close - we out-lift the nearest competitors’ crane, which is still yet to be built, by 160 percent.”

“It’s clear from the level of global demand that our clients have already recognised the huge advantages this massive capacity can bring to their projects, which is why we’ve invested in building a second crane,” he added.

In addition to the second AL.SK190, ALE has built a new 650 tonne heavy duty skid shoe for the load-out and load-in of offshore modules, as well as the installation of bridge decks, container cranes and other heavy weight loads. The new skid shoe system’s first job this summer, loading-out a 20,000 tonne topside in Korea.

“This new skidding system is a compact, versatile piece of equipment that takes horizontal movement to the next level,” said Ronald Hoefmans, ALE executive director. “This new investment brings ALE’s hydraulic skidding capacity to more than 70,000 tonnes and total skidding capacity to over 150,000 tonnes.”
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ALE's new 650 tonne heavy duty skid shoe

ALE has also placed an order for a new-build barge, the ALE 300. The class 300 barge will complement the ALE 250, ALE's existing class 250 barge working in the Middle East, and will have an above-standard deck loading capacity of 20 tonnes per square metre. The ALE 300 is scheduled to be delivered in Singapore in December 2010 for onward delivery to the Middle East.

Richard Peckover added: "The ALE 300 will maximise load capacity and minimise load spreading requirements, generally improving efficiency in barge loading operations."

Other new acquisitions include an additional 150 lines of Self-Propelled Modular Transporters (SPMTs) with seven new power packs, taking ALE’s total SPMT fleet to more than 1,000 axles.

Earlier this year ALE the addition of the 1,600 tonne capacity Terex Demag
CC8800-1 crane to its fleet. The crane completed its first job in Sines, Portugal in April 2010, lifting a 1,457.1 tonne reactor as part of a conversion project at a Galp Energia refinery.