The refurbishment of cranes offers at least three clear advantages: cost savings, improved crane performance – through newer, faster hoists – and operator familiarity, crane manufacturer Condra Cranes highlights.

The company points out that replacing an overhead crane is costly, owing to capital expenditure and risk, as the buyer must not only consider the scale of financial outlay, but also any possibility of equipment underperformance or failure if the choice is wrong.

“The watchwords are ‘care’, and ‘caution’ too. One viable option, often overlooked, is refurbishment,” a Condra Cranes spokesperson said in a media statement.

“Modern refurbishment programmes go beyond basic repairs. They integrate updated controls, safety systems, drives and automation technologies to bring older cranes up to or beyond current performance and compliance standards.”

Condra Cranes offers a comprehensive crane refurbishment service, as well as the design and manufacture of new cranes, with recent refurbishments including machines as old as 40 years, installed and recommissioned with the same warranty as a new crane.

The company spokesperson further explains that, while not as obvious as cost savings and improved crane performance, the familiarity factor cannot be overemphasised as a leading advantage of refurbishment.

A buyer should also ask, if tempted to buy a new crane over refurbishment, what the cost might be of lost production in the case of breakdown, stated the spokesperson.

“Always high, this figure can become unimaginably so if long shipping times are needed for component parts to arrive from a foreign manufacturer. How much production will be lost, and at what cost?”

Condra Cranes needs about three weeks to refurbish to top standard, and will incorporate modern technology the customer may specify at an overall cost that is almost always less than buying a new crane.

Condra Cranes usually only refurbishes its own cranes, as spare parts from rival firms are not always available and are expensive to import, while the company manufactures all spares locally.

“If the crane is one of ours, then refurbishment is usually worthwhile. We encourage it because new crane prices are about 60% higher today than they were ten years ago. If needed, we can change crane capacity and span.”

Even cranes older than 20 years can usually be improved by installing variable frequency drives for smoother acceleration and deceleration. Condra Cranes can also fit enhancements such as remote control and a digital read-out on the load.

Refurbishments carry a twoyear warranty if authorised Condra Cranes agents service the crane, or one year if not.