India's largest railway truck manufacturer has its crane installations refurbished with Demag engineering

• Comprehensive measures increase efficiency after Professional Crane Audit
• Significant order for refurbishment business in India

Texmaco Rail & Engineering Ltd. in Kolkata, India's largest railway truck manufacturer, has placed an order to refurbish eight overhead travelling cranes using Demag engineering. Demag Service India first subjected the crane installations to a comprehensive inspection (Professional Crane Audit) after which it developed a detailed upgrade concept. The plan is to refurbish the cranes step-by-step in such a way that day-to-day operations at Texmaco are not interrupted. The order involves installing tried-and-tested Demag components from Terex MH’s established product range.

“The refurbishment concept Demag Service presented to us was utterly convincing”, enthused D.H. Kela, President and CEO at Texmaco Rail & Engineering. “Once they have been converted, these cranes will provide higher reliability and safety to handle increased production. In Demag service we have selected a qualified partner who is in a position to support us and boost the safety, reliability and performance of our crane installations. In addition to this, Demag engineering has a good reputation with Texmaco as a result of the Texmaco UGL joint venture which successfully uses Demag crane technology.”

Manojit Acharya, Executive Director of Terex Material Handling (Terex MH) India explained: “By implementing this holistic refurbishment approach, we are laying the foundations for our customer to secure a future-orientated investment. In doing so, we do not just concentrate on individual crane components, we consider the entire crane installation as a unit and its interface with the manufacturing & lifting processes. It was not only our detailed breakdown of the steps to refurbish the cranes that was decisive in winning this order, but also the impressively broad range of products we can supply. This flexibility allows us to provide tailor-made solutions whether it is a new crane project or a service solution.

“This refurbishment project is a significant order for Demag Service and emphasises the faith customers have in our solutions. Highly dedicated, qualified Demag Service engineers and fitters will be carrying out the work to meet the agreed schedule.”

Additional information

Professional Crane Audit
A refurbishment project is based on a comprehensive Professional Crane Audit (PCA), which exactly defines the status of an installation. An audit of this type, of which this was the first performed in India, involves detailed, in-depth inspection of the crane installation and an analysis of the data recorded in the process. In a subsequent consulting meeting, the customer is informed in detail of all the actions required to refurbish and upgrade his cranes to ensure that the installation is both safe and economical in the future. The objective of the actions recommended after a PCA is to increase the safety, performance and availability of a crane installation while reducing overheads. Manojit Acharya confirmed: “Texmaco’s order shows that the Indian market appreciates professional advice and services. We are able to offer both these commodities and are thus supporting Texmaco in their aim of maintaining the value of their investment long-term.”

About the refurbishment project
At the Texmaco production facility in Kolkata, industrial cranes are used for the in-plant transfer of materials within the eight bays. The cranes, some of which are 60 years old, were originally made by various local manufacturers and have load capacities of 5 to 40 tonnes. To secure their availability for coming years and to lower overheads, Texmaco decided to go for a full-scale refurbishment programme and opted for implementation of the concept proposed by Demag Service.

That concept, developed specifically for Texmaco, involves replacing the drive and control technology in the double-girder overhead travelling cranes. The crane and trolley travel units on the larger crane installations are to be fitted with wheel block systems from the DRS range that has been tried-and-tested worldwide.

In addition to these features, new power supplies and new control modules are included in the refurbishment of the Texmaco cranes, as are radio control units which can be used on a master/slave basis as an alternative to the controls in the cab. In the context of the refurbishment operation, the bottom blocks and load hooks will be replaced and a spare parts management system implemented.

Once the entire operation has been completed, the cranes will be both more efficient and safer. The supply of spare parts will then also be secured in the medium term due to the large number of new components. The cranes will be more productive because there will be fewer unscheduled downtimes. In addition, this state-of-the-art drive technology will also reduce the cranes' energy consumption.

About Texmaco
A quarter of all freight trucks (railway wagons) manufactured in India come from the Texmaco Rail & Engineering Ltd. based in Kolkata. Besides this product, the enterprise, which is a part of the Indian Adventz Group, manufactures pressure vessels, cryogenic storage vessels, steel castings and heavy steel fabrications for, amongst other things, bridges, power stations and other infrastructure projects. The enterprise, founded in 1939, has a high level of vertical integration, as can be seen, for example, by the fact that it has its own state-of-the-art foundry with an annual capacity of 30,000 tonnes. Part of the group is engaged in another joint venture with internationally orientated rail truck makers who also manufacture passenger coaches & locomotives.

About Terex Material Handling's Indian subsidiary
In establishing its own local Demag subsidiary in 1997, Terex Material Handling took a decisive step towards penetrating the Indian market. Today the regional subsidiary based in Chakan, in the west of India near Pune, forms one of the major pillars in the growth strategy of the company. The inauguration of the new administration and production facility in 2010 represented a considerable expansion in production capacities for Process and Universal Cranes and individual crane components. Today, Terex Material Handling has its own sales & service locations in India and a large, but closely-knit network of authorised distributors.

About Demag/Terex
With Demag industrial cranes and crane components, Terex Corporation is one of the world's leading suppliers of crane technology. The core competence of the Terex Material Handling business group lies in the development, design and production of technically sophisticated cranes, hoists and components and the provision of services for these products. The business group manufactures in 16 countries on five continents and is present in more than 60 countries, reaching customers in more than 100 countries. 

Terex Corporation is a diversified global manufacturer engaged in the mechanical and plant engineering sector. A core activity of Terex Corporation is the provision of reliable solutions to meet customers’ needs for a wide range of applications such as construction and infrastructure, shipping and transportation, quarrying, refining, energy and utility industries and manufacturing. Terex reports in five business segments: Aerial Work Platforms, Construction, Cranes, Material Handling & Port Solutions and Materials Processing. Terex offers financial products and services to assist in the acquisition of Terex equipment through Terex Financial Services.