2nd July 2009:  CEMEX UK, building materials provider, has invested in the first Sennebogen Green Line 870R HD crane, in the UK. Supplied by UK dealer Hassell of Stoke on Trent the new £500,000 crane, powered by electricity as opposed to diesel, is in operation at CEMEX’s Battersea wharf adjacent to the River Thames in London. 

Painted in its resplendent CEMEX livery the crane offers several environmental benefits being exceptionally economical to run, providing no direct emissions and is extremely quiet compared to a mechanical diesel engine.

Weighing in at 87 tonnes this new generation Green Line machine features a robust, very service friendly design with high handling performance and incorporates a state-of-the-art load sensing hydraulic system.

The new crane, as well as being the first of this model in the UK, is the first to be used in an inland water operation, the other four Sennebogen machines have been placed in UK ports. All have the capability to handle 450 tonnes of aggregates an hour. 

CEMEX is transporting 4 or 5 barge loads of sand and stone every week from its Northfleet plant which processes marine aggregates and is located near the Thames estuary.  The barges have a capacity of 750 tonnes and have to be unloaded within a 2 hour ‘window’ with the rising or falling tide of the Thames.

The discharged aggregates are used at the adjacent modern ready mixed concrete plant providing materials for local construction projects in the city.

“Sustainability is an integral part of our business. This supply chain using barges, as opposed to trucks on busy London roads, is one of many examples of how we are reducing the impact of our materials within the construction world” comments Andy Spencer, CEMEX Sustainability Director.

The crane was manufactured in Straubing, Bavaria with the final part of its delivery journey from Erith to Battersea on a 53 metre barge up the Thames.  The timing of the loading at Erith and off-loading at Battersea required exact planning to catch the point of the tide changing course during the Spring High tides.