Crane Repair & Refurbishment a Major Business

Crane manufacturers are making repair and refurbishment a part of their product support and even more comprehensive in order to ensure higher or total lifecycle of their customers’ machines. NBM&CW reports.

Repair and refurbishment of cranes is an intrinsic part of the support extended by manufacturers to their customers so that they can derive total lifecycle cost of their machines. This service applies equally to rental agencies and contractors looking to buy second-hand equipment.

Says Ghananeel Molankar, Divisional Head- Construction Machinery - Liebherr India Private Limited, “We provide complete refurbishment service of old Liebherr cranes based on case to case basis and in consultation with customers. We first undertake due diligence of the machine and evaluate the scope of repairs via a thorough inspection. Based on the inspection, a parts list is prepared and scope of repair is defined in mutual discussion with the customer. Customers can either opt for reconditioning of the parts or full replacement. The lead time for repairs mainly depends on the availability of parts but including parts fitment could take three months on an average.”

He says, “Refurbishment option is available for Liebherr Engines as well. We at Liebherr India Private Limited have a dedicated engine overhaul workshop. The air-conditioned workshop is insulated in a way to prevent dust and other foreign particles to ensure quality repair of engines as well as other components."

"Inspection of boom is very critical. Especially when there has been corrosion the examination is done as per Liebherr guidelines and in most of the cases it involves ultrasonic tests and other Non-destructive tests (NDT) if required. Based on the examination and other reports we appropriately advice the customer to either go for a repair procedure or if required then completely replace the boom section with a new one. Welding is done as per Liebherr welding procedure and by a Liebherr certified welder.”

The company had recently undertaken a complete refurbishment of the duty cycle crawler crane which was more than 20 years old. Liebherr has been catering to machines globally which are even more than 30 years old.

Says Subhajit Chandra, Divisional Head-Liebherr Cranes India, “Liebherr cranes are designed for a life period of 25-30 years – the reason why they command a higher resale value. Their components remain fully functional, sometimes even beyond their shelf life. We usually re-sell our well-maintained used cranes from Germany, which are 10 years old or so and even younger cranes as per availability, to customers in different markets. Since, the selling is done directly by us, we do their refurbishment using Liebherr’s genuine parts, either at our company’s workshop or at the customer’s yards as well. Liebherr cranes are designed and manufactured as per European EN13000 standards, so safe maintenance practices are adhered to during repair and refurbishment.”

As part of its products support to customers, Action Construction Equipments (ACE) is placing a lot of emphasis on repairs and refurbishment of its truck-mounted cranes, crawlers and the recently launched new-generation cranes. The company is also ensuring timely supply of parts to reduce downtime of its machines.

Manoj Agarwal, Chief General Manager, ACE avers, “We have dedicated teams for product service and support, troubleshooting, and for supply of spare parts to our customers. In fact, we have service centers across the country to minimize downtimes of our machines. Our engineers are regularly trained and updated on the machines’ parts and features. We are currently working on telematics and GPRS for monitoring of the machines in real time for preventive maintenance, upgradation, timely servicing etc through the digital platform.” Anil Bhatia, VP - Sales & Marketing, TIL Limited, informs that repair and refurbishment of cranes is a major business activity at TIL. “We undertake complete refurbishment and overhauling of engines, transmissions, axles, hydraulic systems, and booms. When required, we replace the components with a warranty period. Our product support and service are backed by our engineering expertise and undertaken as part of an annual maintenance contract and also as part of our service and support, even if the cranes are out of the warranty period. All jobs are done by strictly adhering to the safety requirements.”