It has been a year of considerable development for the on-site plant segment in the Gulf region, which has seen a larger number of new product launches and a concerted effort by manufacturers to drive fleet operators towards premium products more closely akin to those in developed markets.
One significant trend has been the push by light tower manufacturers towards models with LED lights, instead of the traditional metal-halide bulb. The greater cost-efficiency of LED lighting has been apparent for some years now, but the response from the market has been muted — potentially due to the higher initial cost of LED light towers.
However, Chicago Pneumatic recently sold its first order of LED light towers in the Middle East just this March, after an order for 25 CPLT V15 LED units by Kuwaiti’s Al-Yousifi Engineering & Construction Equipment.
Tellingly, Chicago’s Kuwait distributor, General Transportation & Equipment (GTE), was originally asked to provide metal halide light towers, but advised Al-Yousifi to consider the more efficient LED models.
GTE’s equipment sales manager, Ejazul Hassan, said: “With the CPLT V15, the LED lifespan is 30,000 hours, compared to 6,000 hours provided by a metal halide bulb. This means the CPLT V15’s bulbs don’t need to be replaced for approximately three years.”
In all, Chicago Pneumatic has launched seven light towers in the region, with its most recent, the CPLT H6LED, launched in January, using four 350W high-efficiency LED lamps to provide the equivalent of four 1,000W metal halide lamps — reducing fuel consumption by up to 70%. The CPLT H6LED’s large 130-litre fuel tank meanwhile also increases refuelling intervals — for run times of up to 185 hours.
January also saw Chicago launch its fourth electrically powered LED light tower, the CPLB2 LED light tower, which has also been designed for transportability — allowing 32 units to be transported on a single truck.
Likewise, in February, Doosan unveiled four LED light towers that are rated to perform for 50,000 hours — and therefore not require replacement during the light tower’s life-cycle.
Doosan also noted that while costing more initially than standard metal halide lights, its LED fixtures are 50% more fuel efficient, and deliver a return on investment within a few years. It pointed out that LED fixtures can be turned on and off instantly, and also require no cooldown prior to transport and storage.
In October last year, the UAE’s Swaidan Trading also invested in 50 SMC TL90 LED light towers from UK-based manufacturer Morris Site Machinery (MSM). The model has been specifically adapted to improve heat reflection and maintain performance in the high temperatures of the Middle East.
The flexible light tower can be run either off its own diesel engine or main power, and up to three of the machines can be linked together and run of the engine of a single unit. Its low energy but powerful 240W LED lamps also have a lamp life of 50,000 hours.
Ajit Kumar, CEO of Swaidan Trading, noted: “We wanted the best lighting towers to satisfy the demands of temperature and terrain in Dubai as the plans for Expo 2020 take shape. MSM meets all our requirements for supplying energy-saving, quality and reliable equipment.”
POWERING THROUGH
In portable power, Himoinsa has delivered units to provide power for both Dubai Festival City and Doha Festival City this year.
In January, Al Futtaim Auto and Machinery Company (FAMCO) supplied three Himoinsa HTW-1745 T5 generator to deliver 5.2MVA of energy to power the 48 pumps for Dubai Festival City’s Imagine show, a Guinness World Record-holding water and light display.
A fourth 60kVA HFW-60 T5 genset, with a FPT-Iveco engine was also installed to start up as the other units power down— allowing them to be switched off without interrupting supply. The Himoinsa gensets are housed in 40ft-long containers, which simplified the logistics, reduced on-site work, and minimised installation time.
Himoinsa is also guaranteeing backup power to the 670,000m2 Doha Festival City complex within seven seconds using five gensets capable of supplying a total of 8.7MVA of stand-by energy.
“We needed to prove under test conditions that all the gensets would be able to run from a dead start, synchronise and produce power within ten seconds. We achieved 7.8 seconds and proved the same results on site,” said Terry McGuire, regional GM at FAMCO.
The five HTW-1745 T5 generator sets are individually capable of supplying 1.736 kVA, and feature Mitsubishi S16R PTA engines and Stamford PI734E alternators that were oversized to 1900kVA. The setup was synchronised by Woodward speed control system.
Three MAN Diesel & Turbo generator sets were meanwhile selected in March to power for a crane facility located in Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah Port. With a capacity of 65 tonnes, the crane hub is equipped to load and unload some of the largest container ships in the world, and the MAN 18V32/40 units are now supplying approximately 26MW of electricity to power its cranes.
MAN Diesel & Turbo’s previous projects in Saudi Arabia include a 40MW unit for Arabian Cement Company, a 54MW heavy-duty power plant for United Cement Industrial Company, and an installation of approximately 60MW for Yanbu Cement Company.
March also saw Dubai-based Rental Solutions & Services (RSS) purchase more than 300 generator sets with outputs ranging from 60kVA to 500kVA from JCB. The $11m order represented the largest yet for JCB Power Products’ RS range of gensets, which are specifically designed for use within the global rental sector.
Overall, we see plenty of activity across on-site plant, both in terms of product and orders, and in gensets as primary power.
