25.03.2013

Potains for Indiabulls

Indian real estate company Indiabulls has purchased eight Potain tower cranes for a new development in Mumbai.

The company which has its own contracting division, approached four tower crane manufacturers to provide solutions and quote for the cranes required to build a three high rise tower development, which includes the 75 storey Sky Suites tower, the Sky Forest an 80 storey tower and the 65 floor Sky tower.

Because of space cost and time restrictions, Indiabulls needed to position the cranes internally and required 1.6 metre mast sections that could fit inside the elevator shafts.

Potain was one of only two manufacturers that were able to supply cranes with 1.6 metre masts that could reach the required heights and climb the full height of the development - 270 metres - during construction. The cranes spend around 50 percent of their time handling steel reinforcement, 40 percent lifting the concrete formwork and 10 percent placing concrete by bucket. Loads range between two and 2.5 tonnes.
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Four of the Potain MC205 cranes working on the three tower Sky development

Potain regional sales manager Amol Badgujar, Hans Olsson, key accounts and special projects director and Raymond Tang, regional product manager all worked closely with the design and planning team at Indiabulls to come up with the solution, which included eight 10 tonne MC 205 cranes mounted on 1.6 metre towers and shorter – 25 metre jibs.

The team also designed a coordinated climbing plan for the course of construction, synchronising it with the placing of formwork and the completion of the building cores. The Sky Suites is using two of the cranes, Sky Forest, four and Sky two.

Sumit Bhat, general manager of Indiabulls Real Estate said: “With this project, we weren’t only buying a product, we were buying a solution. We looked at all the options available, and the plan from Manitowoc was the best. Their team understood our needs and helped us develop an optimised lift plan. In addition, Potain is a brand we know well, with strong customer support from Manitowoc Crane Care, so we knew we were in very capable hands.”

Sandeep Kapur, vice president of plant and machinery at Indiabulls Real Estate added: “We have extensive experience with Potain cranes, so we know the quality that comes with them, but the added experience is what really helped with this project. Even when we were doing our load calculations and beam designs, we were constantly talking with Amol, Hans and Raymond, and their feedback helped us establish the ideal structure for the buildings.”

Indiabulls Real Estate is one of the largest property companies in India, with developments that include premium office space, commercial complexes, high-end residential buildings, retail spaces, hotels and resorts. The company has delivered over 300,000 square metres of developed space with a value of $1.75 billion over its first four years - more than any other Indian start-up real estate company over the same period.