Cape Town company sets new record with boatbuilding crane

Cape Town-based BB Cranes has received a notable order from boatbuilders Robertson and Caine, the largest manufacturer of catamarans in the southern hemisphere and the third largest globally

Amongst the six cranes that have been ordered are two single-girder and two double-girder BB machines with 5-ton capacity, spanning 20 metres (two cranes) and 19 metres; a 10-ton double-girder machine with a span of 20 metres; and a 30-metre span, 5-ton capacity crane for the factor in Montague Gardens in Cape Town.

The latter is the crowning jewel of the order. It represents a record for the Cape Town-based company and is a direct result of a company effort to improve its capabilities. BB has steadily upgraded its capabilities and procedures at Rivergate Industrial Park since 2022, when it became a member of the Condra group. In June 2024, the company increased its factory floor area by 400 square metres.

Justifying expansion

BB will assemble all six from standard components, and fit them with twinned short-headroom Condra hoists – two per crane. There will be variable-speed drives on the long- and cross-travels for precise boat positioning.

A BB Cranes spokesman explained that three of the six cranes would be manufactured simultaneously with two other wide-span machines ordered by Rovic, an independent agricultural machinery manufacturer that commissioned three double-girder overhead cranes in the first half of 2024, two of them designed with 28-metre spans just two metres shy of BB’s new 30-metre record.

“Our crane spans are usually anything between 18 and 25 metres, so we see the 28-metre-span machines for Rovic – and especially the 30-metre span crane for Robertson and Caine – as justifying our decision to expand BB’s capabilities and increase our factory floor space,” the spokesman added.

“All of these cranes represent turnkey deliveries from design through to installation. For us, they are affirmation of BB’s decision to grow.”

Automation on the rise

Robertson and Caine has been BB Cranes’ customer for twenty years. Current work for the boatbuilders includes partial on-site automation of a 16-ton crane used in repetitive applications, control of which will be reduced to the single push of one button to accelerate production and improve productivity.

The BB Cranes spokesman explained that the number of enquiries for automated cranes was increasing. “We offer automation across our product range, working in collaboration with Condra’s design office,” he surmised. “Condra is accumulating automation experience, and is currently automating a crane for use in wrap-and-protect operations in Gauteng. We hope to see more automated cranes among our customers here in Cape Town.”