Cape Town-based BB Cranes is preparing to manufacture its first 30-m-span overhead crane as part of an order for six cranes for boatbuilder and catamarans manufacturer Robertson and Caine.

The 30-m-span record was set following BB Cranes’ improvement of its manufacturing capabilities and the recent expansion of its factory floor.

In addition to the 30 m, 5 t capacity, wide-span, double- girder electric overhead travelling crane for its factory in Montague Gardens, Cape Town, the boatbuilder also ordered two single-girder and two double-girder BB machines, all with 5 t capacity.

Two of the cranes will span 20 m, and two others 19 m and 18 m respectively, while the sixth crane on order is a 10 t double-girder machine with a span of 20 m.

“BB Cranes will assemble all six from standard components and fit them with twinned short- headroom Condra hoists – two per crane. “There will be variable-speed drives on the long- and cross- travels for precise boat positioning,” a BB Cranes spokesperson commented in a statement sent to Engineering News & Mining Weekly.

Three of the six cranes will be manufactured simultaneously with two other wide-span machines ordered by independent agricultural machinery manufacturer Rovic, which commissioned three double-girder overhead cranes in the first half of this year, two of them designed with 28 m spans.

“Our crane spans are usually anything between 18 m and 25 m, so we see the 28-m-span machines for Rovic – and especially the 30-m-span crane for Robertson and Caine – as justifying our decision to expand BB Crane’s capabilities and increase our factory floor space,” the spokesperson explains.

BB Cranes has steadily upgraded its capabilities and procedures at Rivergate Industrial Park since 2022, when the company became a member of the Condra group.

In June this year, the company increased its factory floor area by 400 m2.

“All of these cranes represent turnkey deliveries from design through to installation. For us, they are affirmation of BB Cranes’ decision to grow.”

Robertson and Caine has been a BB Cranes customer for 20 years, with current work including partial on-site automation of a 16 t crane used in repetitive applications, control of which will be reduced to the single push of one button to accelerate production and improve productivity.

The number of enquiries for automated cranes is increasing, BB Cranes says, noting its offerings of automations across its product range, working in collaboration with Condra’s design office.

“Condra is accumulating automation experience, and is currently automating a crane for use in wrap-and-protect operations in Gauteng. We hope to see more automated cranes among our customers here in Cape Town,” the spokesperson explains.

Currently equipped with eight BB cranes, Robertson and Caine’s new order will bring its total of BB Cranes machines to 14.

All six of the new cranes will be delivered during November and December 2024.