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| Overhead cranes vital to troop supply chain in Afghanistan  Camp Bastion in Afghanistan will not remind many people of home. Nevertheless, during a tour of the maintenance workshops, High Peak MP Andrew Bingham came across two overhead cranes manufactured in Chapel-en-le Frith by Street Crane Company. Street Crane produces over 400 complete cranes per year, the majority of which are for the UK market. The installation at Camp Bastion is exceptional as most of the company's export sales are of the major electro-mechanical components such as hoists, bogies and controls. Only when a customer needs complete cranes like the British Army or a contractor has a major capital project, such as a power station, is it practical and economic to ship the whole crane package from the UK."I already knew that Street Crane exported around the world, but to actually see their cranes in action away from High Peak really brought home how far afield they go and how much of a global exporter they are," Andrew Bingham commented. The overhead cranes are used in the workshops at Camp Bastion for the servicing and repair of armoured cars and other heavy equipment. The camp is home to 30,000 British military personnel and support staff and covers an area the size of Wigan or Reading. Besides troop accommodation, it has a major airport and heliport with all the associated service workshops, warehousing and infrastructure. Exports make up around seventy five percent of Street Crane Company's business. Managing director Andrew Pimblett explained, "We now have over 60 overseas distributors, the majority of who manufacture cranes for their own local market. We made a commitment to export over 15 years ago, a move that has been very successful. Our customers make the major structures such as crane beams and gantries and we supply from the UK higher value engineering components that we can manufacture to a consistent quality and at a scale that makes them competitive." write your comments about the article :: © 2012 Construction News :: home page |