The SGC-90 electric crane, the newest and greenest addition to Sarens’ fleet of giant cranes, has triumphantly performed the highest lifts at the Balikpapan refinery project in East Kalimantan, on the island of Borneo, Indonesia. 

This green, silent crane plugs into the grid and can even regenerate electricity. As the first crane of its kind, it’s in demand with Sarens’ clients worldwide, and is making headlines around the globe. 

The SGC-90’s latest and largest set of lifts were performed for the RDMP Balikpapan Joint Operation as part of the Indonesian government’s Refinery Development Master Plan (RDMP), which aims to expand and upgrade five refineries and increase production by 150%. 

Sarens was contracted to provide heavy lifting equipment for the project from October 2020 through the end of September 2023, and the Group has since deployed a range of equipment to the refinery site, including:

• SGC-90 electric ring crane with 130m main boom
• CC8800-1 crawler crane with boom booster
• CC2800-1 lattice boom crawler crane
• CC2500 lattice boom crawler crane
• LTM 1250/1 mobile crane
• SCC1500 crawler crane
• RT1120 rough terrain crane

The star of the project site, the giant electric SGC-90 crane, has been on location for several months and was selected because it could easily handle the heaviest items to be lifted: two regenerators, each weighing over 1.000 tonnes. It was also well-suited to the site, which provided adequate space for assembling the ring crane so it could perform lifts from two different positions. 

All project equipment was transported via sea from the UK and Bahrain, and was en route for approximately 6 weeks from each location. While the other cranes have been on-site since late 2020, the SGC-90 is the latest arrival, and rigging it to its full glory took approximately 30 days.

Once in position, the SGC-90 boldly handled the highest lifts at the refinery project: a propane/propylene splitter on the propylene recovery unit, which reached a height just above 110 metres and weighed over 750 tonnes. It was easily the longest load to be installed at the site, and even as the SGC-90 utilised 130 metres of main boom, it was still a very tight boom clearance. A special spreader beam was designed for this particular lift, which also required the SGC-90 to hold the lifting points as a tailing crane crawled about 90 metres. Once the load was vertical, the SGC-90 slewed it clockwise onto its foundation. A total of 21 personnel were involved in this complex and triumphant lifting operation!

Sarens is proud to be involved in this important expansion project, and has been able to quickly and flexibly respond to all challenges in pursuit of making every lift a success: from installing a large number of items within a tight rental period, to contending with unpredictable weather and heavy rains nearly every day and assembling the CC8800-1 from SSL/LSL 120 metres to BSFVL MB-BB 96+12 metres within just six days!