Crawler telescopic cranes from SENNEBOGEN get the job done quicker at the large construction sites in the Arab Emirates

The boom in construction is unwavering in Dubai, many plans to reclaim land along the coast and large infrastructure plans illustrate the ambitious goals of the emirate to provide the economy a broad foundation, and to achieve independence from oil in the medium term. The Al Naboodah Group, which has more than 17,000 employees, operates in many large-scale projects in transportation, general transport, building technology, logistics, and agriculture and very intensely in the construction industry, and is embarking on sustainable development of the emirate for future generations.

However, compared to previous years the sky is no longer the limit for construction in Dubai. "Many construction projects are subject to lengthy financing, and checks are also carried to ascertain whether the cost and duration of the construction projects match and whether the economic framework parameters are suitable for the financing," explains Martin Ashfield, Capital Asset General Manager at Al Naboodah. Al Naboodah was quick to understand that innovative and new approaches have to be implemented.

"We have dealt with how we could reduce the cost and duration of our construction projects in this context in detail. And we have seen that handling materials and lifting loads have a great influence on the schedule at the construction site. As a result we followed a recommendation through Swaidan Trading Co to work more with telescopic crawler cranes. We were given a promise to greatly reduce set-up times on sometimes difficult ground conditions, giving us a more safe and flexible operation of the crane under load."

These promises were then impressively kept as the concept of a telescopic crawler crane from SENNEBOGEN makes it possible to operate on the entire construction site, outriggers are also no longer required due to the stable crawler chassis. Furthermore, this adds to the safety of the lifts being performed in variable soil conditions, as the telescopic crawler crane still telescopes under load and positions the load safely. Even with an incline of 4°, which is commonplace on many construction sites, the machine is still reliable, safe, and powerful.

"Another advantage the telescopic crawler crane gives us. Even with fully telescoped crawler chassis, the telescopic crane is significantly more compact than e.g. an AT crane with extended outriggers so that we can work within a much smaller footprint. That gives us much more flexibility on site", reckons Martin Ashfield with regards to the advantages of his machines.

Al Naboodah has successfully been using SENNEBOGEN telescopic crawler cranes within its fleet for the past 3 years, that’s in addition to 40 t, 50 t, 80 t and 100t machines, this also now includes two flagships models 6113 R of 120t capacity. The machines have been proven to be particularly sturdy and can be transported easily and quickly.

"We have found a substantial time and cost saving on set up times on site, with no requirements for attendant equipment to assist in the rigging of e.g. conventional lattice boom cranes, after unloading, the cranes are virtually ready to use straight away so that we gain extra flexibility, the project management teams have also been won over with the telescopic crawler, anything that improves safety, time and ultimately costs, has to be a win-win situation for everyone", says Martin Ashfield.

In addition to the performance, the drivers value the newfound comfort in the Maxcab comfort cab. The tropicalized climate control guarantees sufficient cooling, even for the heat in the Emirates, and all operating elements of the cab also meet the highest ergonomic requirements. The operators are particularly happy with the air-sprung comfort seat, which makes a long day on the building site pleasant.

Overall, the new crane concept, the crawler telescopic crane, is a secret to success according to Martin Ashfield. Many processes take less time today and are also safer and more efficient than using classic crane types. The time gained is important to complete construction projects quickly, reliably, and economically, and that is a key factor for every investor in Dubai as these factors guarantee planning security.