French group Five in deal to deliver highly-automated cranes to EGA
DUBAI, July 6, 2022
Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), the largest industrial company in the UAE outside oil and gas, today (July 6) announced the company is to install highly-automated, multi-functional overhead cranes in Jebel Ali in a step towards full automation of cranes used for reduction cell tending, and securing operations for decades ahead.
As part of the plan, the Emirati group is replacing 16 cranes that have completed their 25-year useful lives with just 14 new models that incorporate auto-positioning and advanced sensing capabilities.
It has already contracted Fives, a French industrial engineering group, for the supply of the new cranes. The first new crane is expected to be delivered by the end of 2023 with all 14 new cranes in operation by the beginning of 2025.
According to EGA, the increased automation capabilities of the new cranes will improve safety, efficiency and reliability.
The technology brings closer its future ambition of operating cranes remotely from a central control room and ultimately fully-autonomous crane operation, it added.
CEO Abdulnasser Bin Kalban and Sébastien Gauguier, Aluminium Division President of Fives Group, visited EGA’s potlines in Jebel Ali together to mark the start of the crane replacement project.
"Pot tending cranes are the workhorses of any aluminium smelter, and driving automation offers significant potential to reduce risks for people and improve efficiency and cost," remarked Bin Kalban.
"Our new cranes will boost automation in our potlines from the day they are installed, and we expect to make great progress in further automation during these cranes’ working lives," he stated.
"These cranes are an investment in the long-term robustness of our operations, and will help enable us to create value for many decades to come. Using technology to enhance operations is at the heart of EGA’s Industry 4.0 strategy," he added.
Gauguier said: "Fives has worked with EGA since aluminium production began in the UAE in 1979 and we are pleased to continue to earn the trust of the largest ‘premium aluminium’ producer in the world."
"Through our partnership with EGA we will together lead the industry in crane automation in aluminium smelters," he noted.
The Emirati aluminium major boasts more than 80 reduction cell tending cranes across its Jebel Ali and Al Taweelah sites in total.
These reduction cell tending cranes perform complex tasks including anode replacement and metal tapping in a harsh environment with high heat and magnetism. Each crane weighs over 100 tonnes, it added.-TradeArabia News Service
