North American Industries (NAI) has been selected to design and install two 10-ton Class E top-running overhead cranes for Houston OCTG Group Inc. The company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of WSP Holdings Limited headquartered in Jiangsu Province, China, manufactures specialty tubing and castings used to transport crude oil and natural gas from an oil or gas layer to the earth’s surface during the drilling process.
Houston asked NAI to inspect the existing cranes in its 1,350-foot-long Houston, Texas-based facility. After thorough inspection by NAI technical personnel, Houston management decided to invest in new cranes. Houston also chose to replace the existing, worn rail to avoid premature damage to the new cranes. Based upon NAI’s recommendation, Houston’s engineering department and project manager chose heavier-duty Class E cranes because they must be capable of handling over 20 lifts per hour.
These double-girder cranes will be used in Houston’s manufacturing process, which includes pipe threading, heat treatment, and inspection. They will also be used to load and unload raw materials. Each crane will have two five-ton hoists bolted directly to a 10-ton trolley. The trolley will move along the 79-foot bridge beam, and the entire crane will move along the 1,350-foot runway system.
“NAI has not only been a pleasure to work with but has also provided service to meet our deadlines. In business, time is critical to advancement, and NAI has been truly accommodating,” said Lena Banigan, Houston’s project manager and assistant vice president.
Dan Osborn, Engineering Manager at North American Industries, adds, “The project has gone smoothly. We assembled a team of engineers, project managers, operations personnel and field technicians to carefully oversee the design, manufacture and installation of the equipment.”
Lift & Access is part of the Catalyst Communications Network publication family.
