ALE building second 4,300 tonner

A second 4,300 tonne capacity AL.SK190 super heavy lift crane will be part of international heavy transport and lifting company ALE's latest fleet expansion programme.

As the world's largest land-based crane, the AL.SK190 has a load moment of 190,000 tonne-metres and 141 m main boom. In April it won the ESTA Innovation and Development Award for End Users. The new AL.SK190 will be completed in the second half of 2011, ALE said.

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

"It's clear from the level of global demand we've had 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," Birch added.

Further expansion

In addition to the second 4,300 tonner, ALE has added 150 lines of self propelled modular transporter (SPMT) and seven power packs to its existing fleet, taking the total number of axle lines to more than 1,000.

It has also built a new 650 tonne heavy duty skid shoe. Applications include load-outs and load-ins of offshore modules, installation of bridge decks, container cranes and other heavy weight loads. The new skid shoe system's first job is loading out a 20,000 tonne topside in Korea.

"ALE invented the first skid shoes on the market, and 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 over 70,000 tonnes and total skidding capacity to over 150,000 tonnes."

Also on order is a new class 300 barge, called ALE 300, to complement ALE 250, ALE's existing class 250 barge working in the Middle East. Deck loading capacity will be 20 tonnes per square metre and it is scheduled for December delivery in Singapore for onward delivery to the Middle East.