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Portal
Cranes
A large
Commonwealth port operator had been equipped by the Crown
Agents in 1954 and 1957 with a set of 15 units of 7 ton portal
cranes. Progressively the cranes had deteriorated, and after
the bankruptcy of the manufacturer, parts became very difficult
to obtain.
The port
received a grant from the European Union and the EU invited
DIAK to tender for the re-equipping of the best of the cranes
to restore a working conventional break-bulk facility, alongside
the container port.
DIAK researched
and specified a complete set of DC switchgear, resistor banks
and motors, which were made to order. The drawings of the
centre ring collector column were unavailable and the original
factory had closed. DIAK designed an interface, modified a
modern design, and replaced the obsolete units with the new
columns. Every aspect of the cranes, from hoist brakes to
safety load indicators were replaced or restored. After 9
months, the cranes which were previously destined for scrap,
resumed active life with a full spare parts back up.
Container
Gantry Cranes
In a set
of orders valued at $1 million for a major port serving the
Indian Ocean, , DIAK supplied parts to refurbish container
gantry cranes. In direct competition against the original
crane builder, but at prices some 35% less, DIAK equipped
8 cranes with the full range of genuine spare parts to restore
these to good working condition.
Traditionally
the builders of large cranes enjoy a monopoly of parts supply
due to the absence of knowledge in the marketplace of how
these machines are built and from what components. DIAK has
specialised in this field for 20 years and has unrivalled
knowledge of the build of ship-to-shore gantry cranes, rubber-tyred-gantry
cranes, and other specialist container moving machinery such
as reach stackers and front loaders. It is not generally appreciated
that the builders of these machines assemble them in very
small quantities, usually as the result of winning a tender,
and so it is uneconomic for them to manufacture any components
themselves. Usually the crane builder would weld together
a chassis steelwork but then buy in every other item from
specialist factories. So specialist are some of these components
that the same items are often found on all comparable machines
of different brands. The tenders to sell new machines to ports
are highly competitive, so the builders make little profit
on the original sale but instead aim to make significant profits
on later parts supply. DIAK can assist all port authorities
by performing an identical parts supply service but at highly
reduced prices. Every part carries the standard DIAK warranty
of one year.
Fire
Prevention Equipment
A small
African port had suffered a major quayside fire and lost substantial
cargo recently "unstuffed" in the nearby sheds.
With no fire equipment ever installed, the port had no design
or specifications for an economic means of preventing future
fires. DIAK designed and supplied an integrated set of sensors,
electricity back-up, monitor stations and extinguishing equipment
to safeguard the cargo sheds together with the 6000 metres
of fireproof cabling to wire up the port quayside.
However not all DIAK work involves innovative engineering,
and we have a fair share of routine supply projects in the
port world. Past shipments have covered items as diverse as
40 tonnes of heavy ships mooring rope through to floodlight
control gear for 50 masts in a container port.
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