LiftWerx is proud to announce that it has developed the world’s most cost-effective and versatile up-tower crane for the wind energy O&M industry. Rated at a lifting capacity of 27 tonnes, the GenHook™ is an industry-leading innovation which is designed to exchange generators, gearboxes, transformers, and single blades in wind turbines, eliminating the need to mobilize large conventional cranes for corrective repairs.
Launching in Q1 2019, the new technology offered by the GenHook™ is fully-electric and has a carbon footprint which is 75% less than traditional cranes, mainly due to the reduced number of trucks required to mobilize it. The crane and turbine interface are easily mobilized to site in only two standard ISO containers. The GenHook™ will drive down O&M costs, improve turbine uptime, increase safety, and reduce the reliance on larger, more expensive traditional cranes.
Currently, there are no lifting devices in the market which can compare to the power, simplicity, and versatility of the GenHook™. The main benefits are as follows:
- The simple design results in a lower capital cost.
- No wires connect the crane to winches on the ground, allowing the nacelle to yaw freely as required.This results in safer operations, especially when the wind changes direction.
- The crane is entirely mounted within the nacelle, with no winch systems on the ground, so the ground footprint is absolutely minimal.
- The crane is electrically-driven, avoiding diesel and gasoline engines altogether.
- There is no launching process to install the crane. It is simply lifted into the nacelle in pieces, using a smaller service crane in the turbine.
- The crane exchanges gearboxes, but due to its increased lifting capacity and longer boom length, it can also exchange generators, transformers, and single blades.
- The crane can be installed on more turbine platforms than any other crane on the market.
According to Glen Aitken, President of LiftWerx, “Many of our customers asked us for a crane which can exchange major components with reduced downtime, reduced costs, and reduced disruption as compared to other cranes. That’s exactly what the GenHook™ does. We worked with our employees, customers, and suppliers to develop a device which is simple, cost-effective, and user-friendly. When people look for value in a product, they often look for something which is cheaper, faster, and better, but usually they have to compromise by settling for only two of these virtues. The GenHook™ offers all three. And we are very proud of that.”
LiftWerx already has two GenHook™ cranes in production, both of which will be placed into service in early 2019. According to Aitken, “Our GenHook™ cranes already have a healthy amount of booked service contracts over the next few years. Naturally, we intend to produce more GenHook™ cranes as the market demands them. Additionally, we are eager to apply our new cranes to the offshore wind energy market, as our customers hope that this technology will help to reduce O&M costs for larger turbines in the 3MW to 7MW range.”
ABOUT LIFTWERX
LiftWerx specializes in alternative up-tower lifting solutions for wind turbine corrective repairs. Their state-of-the-art technology is safer, more reliable, and less costly as compared to using large traditional cranes. In addition to lowering O&M costs, LiftWerx’s up-tower lifting technology reduces ground preparation, and reduces downtime by allowing safe operation of major components in higher wind speeds.
The design and production of the GenHook™ will be performed by the Kenz-Figee Group, in close co-operation with Eager.One for specialized engineering. LiftWerx, Eager.One, and Kenz-Figee are subsidiaries of the Meemaken Group.
LiftWerx offers creative and innovative lifting solutions for major component replacements in wind turbines. For further information, please visit www.liftwerx.com.