The fleet at China’s largest open-pit coal mine now includes nine Grove cranes.
The Heidaigou mine, which has been dealing with the Manitowoc-owned brand since its establishment in 1991, added two new Grove cranes to its line-up in 2013.
The latest cranes to arrive at Heidaigou are from Grove’s line of rough-terrain models: a 60t RT765E-2 and the range-topping 135t RT9150E. In total, the mine has more than a thousand pieces of equipment in operation worth an estimated $650m.
Heidaigou has been open since 1991, but the mine has had to significantly increase output during recent years. In 2004, the Chinese government embarked upon an initiative to close unsafe mines. Whilst this improved safety across the country’s mining industry, it resulted in a 40% drop in overall productivity.
As such, Heidaigou was asked by the government to ramp up operations, growing from an output of 25m tonnes in 2006 to 31m tonnes in 2011. In order to cope with such a significant increase in productivity, the mine has had to invest in a range of new equipment, including additional Grove cranes.
“Right from the beginning, we aimed to be a world-class operation and wanted equipment that both fitted our mentality and values while offering us the latest technology,” explained Lv Jiandue, chief engineer at Inner Mongolia Jungar Energy Co’s equipment maintenance centre. “Grove is the leader in mobile hydraulic cranes, and when we started out, it was the obvious choice for us. So we purchased two 80t RT990 rough-terrain cranes, and 20 years later, they are still in operation.”
Jiandue is confident that Heidaigou’s most recent purchases will operate for as long as the mine’s veteran Grove machines. He and his colleagues are also pleased with the relationship they have built with Manitowoc during the past two decades.
“We have high safety standards in our pit and Grove products give us reassurance,” Jianduo concluded. “Their durability and strong uptime performance means that the cranes can routinely maintain our other equipment, which is vital to our daily operations. Staff from Manitowoc Crane Care regularly visit our facility for training and updates, and this has further enhanced our relationship and strengthened our belief in the company’s high-quality cranes.”
