Overhead cranes and Italy's northern powerhouse

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Northern Italy has produced some of the world’s finest engineering and continues to do so. Julian Champkin reports.

Italian engineering is, of course, renowned. And the centre of it, if it has one, is in the north of the country, at the feet of the Alps where mountains meet the plain. Reasons are, as ever, founded in history. The region has narrow valleys that channel meltwater from the Alps into fast-flowing rivers that, at the start of the Industrial Revolution, supplied water power for foundries and factories. Today, many of Italy’s engineering companies, including hoist-making companies, remain there, many of them still family-owned, sometimes through three or more generations.

Export has been another part of Italian engineering tradition that continues, the more so as mergers and acquisitions are nowadays global affairs. ‘Made in Italy’ is on a par with ‘made in Germany’ as a marker for engineering brilliance and an attraction for customers. Cimolai Technology illustrates both of these. It is a northern concern, headquartered in Piedmont in Carmignano di Brenta, to the north-west of Venice. The company is a worldwide leader in the design and supply of lifting equipment with a speciality, among many others, in boat lifts. In June last year it announced a strategic partnership with New York-based US Hoist corporation.

The link-up is aimed primarily at the US marina and shipyard industries: Cimolai will rely on US Hoists to drive sales of their products throughout the Northeast, Great Lakes and Mid-Western regions. Cimolai has an already-established base of its own in Florida, and US Hoists’ team of specialised technicians will team up with Cimolai Technology’s aftersales division to offer US-based parts and service on all Cimolai machines currently installed in the US and Canada.

One of the first projects of the Italian/US partnership will be a world-beater. Cimolai Technology has been awarded the contract to supply a very large – the company describes it as “ginormous” – boat hoist on tyres that will be installed in the industrial and maritime park Hyak Tongue Point in Astoria, Oregon.

Its capacity will be 1,500 tons – which does indeed merit the term ‘ginormous’ – the height will be 29m and it will run on 32 rubber-tyred wheels. It is, in fact, going to be the biggest boat hoist in the world. Power will be fully electric, from longlife lithium batteries, representing, says Cimolai, a new and important achievement in environment sustainability.

The hoist will be set to work in an area strategic for the Pacific Northwest marine industry: Hyak Tongue Point is close to the mouth of the Columbia River and easily accessible to commercial workboats and barges, Alaska-based fishing vessels and offshore tugs and commercial crafts.

Not that Cimolai is neglecting its home territory. A somewhat more usual boat hoist, though still large at 30-ton capacity, has just been commissioned for Marina Punta Gabbiani at the head of the Adriatic, north of Venice. This too is fully electric-powered.

MISIA

Misia Paranchi is also based in the region, in Lombardy on the outskirts of Milan. It has been making hoists for more than 35 years. Its current XM series consists of 11 sizes with capacities of between 1.0t and 50t.

They are available in different configurations, including low- and standard-headroom monorail, footmounted – either fixed or suspended – or double rail ‘crab’ units. The range allows the XM series to meet any requirements of capacity, hook travel, hoisting speeds or load spectrum.

Misia again is export-oriented. Its experience can typify the export history of Italian hoists over recent decades.

Fraser Fairgrieve, of Misia’s sole UK distributor UK Hoist Sales, tells the story as it concerns the UK. It starts 35 years ago: “Back in 1987, I worked for a company that was manufacturing its own range of overhead cranes, and to remain competitive we wanted to standardise on the components we fitted.

“After months of operation the hoists had worked well in all extremes and we had found the reliability we were looking for. We signed a deal to become sole UK and Ireland agent, and from then on we fitted Misia components to all the cranes we manufactured. At that time, as we were the first to use Misia here; Misia was an unknown. Soon after, interest from other crane manufacturers began to trickle through and we began selling to these people also.”

DONATI

Like Misia, Donati Sollevamenti, based in Legnano north-west of Milan, is also export-oriented: ‘Made in Italy, designed for the world’ is how it describes itself. Electric chain hoists, manual and electric jib cranes and electric wire rope hoists are all in its portfolio, and its DMK series of electric chain hoists can be used fixed, or mounted on a hand-pushed or an electric trolley, and also in low-headroom or self-climbing configurations. The series comes in four basic sizes with capacities from 100kg to 4,000kg.

Overhead cranes and Italy's northern powerhouse