Abu Dhabi-based tower crane specialist NFT has signed a contract to supply 30 tower cranes for a project to build a new factory for Samsung Electronics in South Korea.
NFT, which is the biggest dealer of Potain cranes in the world, said the order is the largest ever placed at once for a single project in the history of the company. It is also part of the company’s global outreach, which has seen it bag projects outside of its core area of the Middle East.
The Samsung job, in which 21 other tower cranes will also be erected with the NFT-supplied cranes, requires the tower cranes to lift heavy steel structures of around 28t. After studying the project in-depth, NFT recommended an optimised package that includes a mix of Potain MR 608s and Terex Comedil CTL 630s, according to a statement by the company. NFT signed the contract with Samsung to supply 20 MR 608s and 10 CTL 630 with final heights at 150 meters.
According to NFT, time was of the essence, so this combination was the best solution to meet the client’s requirements as quickly as possible.
The cranes supplied by NFT are all 32t luffers, which will be working for 14 months on a rental basis. NFT started delivery in January and will continue until June. The contract also includes full service and after-sale support provided by a local company NFT has partnered with.
According to NFT, it was appointed as the main tower crane supplier for the project as it is the only company able to deliver 30 tower cranes in six months. Nabil Al Zahlawi, CEO, NFT, termed the win as another testimonial to the company’s forward thinking and risk-taking approach, which he said provides a competitive advantage that allows NFT to have a stock of 2,000 tower cranes across 20 depots worldwide.
“Every year we forecast what tower cranes the market will need while working with manufacturers’ production schedules so that when there is demand, we are ready immediately,” Al Zahlawi said about NFT’s fleet management strategy. This project is a significant investment for NFT in Asia and the 30 tower cranes were purchased from the manufacturers in order to supply them to Samsung on time, he added.
The Samsung project is one of many mega projects for NFT in South Korea. NFT’s tower cranes have helped build LG’s display factory not far from the Samsung site, where the Abu Dhabi-based company supplied 32 tower cranes ranging from the Potain MD 1100 to the MR 608 and MR 605, Al Zahlawi added.
According to NFT, as a leading supplier of tower cranes around the world, it continues to invest in its fleet to ensure that all project types can be attended to as quickly as possible.
