Page 38: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (October 1970)

Hoffman Acquires Largest Mobile Truck Crane In Country

Unveiling the largest mobile crane in the country for work in the Port of New York are, left to right: Henry

Harnischfeger, president of Harnischfeger Corporation, the crane manufacturer; Harry L. Hoffman, chaiman of

Hoffman Rigging & Crane Service, the owner of the machine; and Clifford B. O'Hara, director of port com- merce for the Port of New York Authority.

As world shipping rushes into containeriza- tion, it is prompting the development of in- creasingly large and swift dockside equipment to expedite the movement of the giant boxes.

The largest of this new equipment is the largest truck crane ever produced in the United

States. Made by Harnisohfeger Corporation of

Milwaukee with rated capacity of 250 tons, it can stow 17 to 19 containers per hour below deck and up to 25 boxes per hour on deck, de- pending on conditions. Its boom can be lengthened to 320 feet plus 80 feet of jib.

Demonstrated at Port Newark, N.J., by Hoff- man Rigging & Crane Service, Inc., specialists in cargo and container handling who operate in Western Hemisphere ports along the At- lantic Seaboard and in the Caribbean, the new crane proved its capacity for handling 40-foot containers as they are put into general use.

It is expected to add needed container-han- dling muscle to major ports, complementing existing gantries, as well as to give secondary ports containerization capacity. "With the new P&H Model 6250-TC Truck

Crane, container-handling capacities of ports can be increased significantly," said Harry L.

Hoffman Jr., chairman of the equipment rental organization, "and our company is prepared to offer this type of equipment and service, on a rental basis, throughout the world. In addition to container handling," Mr. Hoffman added, "the new crane will enhance the heavy lift capability of the Port of New York as well as other ports." He noted the two special fea- tures, consisting of a special container-han- dling tip for leveling uneven boxes, and an elevated cab that were designed into the Hoff- man machine particularly for maritime work.

In addition, Hoffman has installed a computer load-sensing device to increase operational safety.

At the demonstration, Clifford O'Hara, di- rector, port commerce, Port of New York Au- thority, traced the growing worldwide trend to containerization.

Ray Morgan, general manager, Construction

Equipment Division, of Harnischfeger, de- scribed the new crane's features: Rigged with a heavy duty boom tip, the Model 6250-TC can load 250 tons in a single pick as high as 70 feet up and 18 feet out. With a container-

The largest mobile truck crane in the United States dem- onstrating its unique container-handling capability. An elevated cab and a special container tip enables easy leveling of an unbalanced container and the automatic container spreader frame. This machine represents Hoff- man Rigging Service's latest and most modern container- handling mobile crane. handling double boom tip, the crane can carry containers of over 30 tons to the offshore side of the vessel, at a 100-foot radius. It can move around the entire port area to unload railroad cars, group and stack cargo, and assist with heavy construction and installations. By facili- tating the vertical stacking of containers, valuable dockside space can be saved.

The new crane's unique capacity will be util- ized at dockside for the handling of heavy car- goes, in addition to container loading, Mr.

Morgan said. For heavy lifts with the regular crane tip, the crane can handle 120 tons at 40 feet, 100 tons at 45 feet, and 85 tons at 50 feet.

A new concept in power transmission and controls employs the use of a modulated clutch in line with a torque converter and a power shift transmission. With this arrangement, the operator can raise and lower the load on the hook by merely turning his wrist or a twist grip. Extra precision and safety in load place- ment is achieved.

It is expected that advanced mobile truck cranes such as the one demonstrated will pro- vide an answer to the immediate needs of con- tainer shipping ports around the world.

Raytheon Introduces New

Precision Depth Digitizer

A new precision depth digitizer has been in- troduced by Raytheon Company's Submarine Sig- nal Division, Portsmouth, R.I.

Model PDD-200A is designed to convert depth data obtained from precision sounding systems in- to digital information for automatic processing by computer.

Novel features include a selection of feet, fa- thoms, or meters; a print signal to the depth re- corder that displays depth gate edge marks on the chart paper; and an echo search function for automatically widening the gate if an echo is lost.

The new unit can be mounted in a 19-inch rack or in its own cabinet and is compatible with most existing sounding equipment. A seven-segment digital display permits real-time monitoring.

For more information on the PDD-200A and other oceanographic equipment, write to Market- ing Manager, Raytheon Company, Ocean Sys- tems and Equipment Department, P.O. Box 360,

Portsmouth, R.I. 02871.

Effective August 1, the Export Division

Headquarters for Lufkin Industries, Inc., has been moved from New York City to Houston,

Texas, according to R.L. Poland, president of the Lufkin, Texas, manufacturer of oilfield pumping units, commercial and marine gears and truck trailers.

The change is in conjunction with the trans- fer of Robert Gibbs, Lufkin's Export Division manager, from New York City to Houston.

Offices will be at 1108 C&I Building, Houston,

Texas 77002, phone 713-222-0108.

Lufkin also announces the opening of a dis- trict export office in Edison, N.J., effective

September 15, and replacing the office in New

York City. District manager T.L. Bowers will handle oilfie'd sales, and H.J. Trout Jr. will be district sales engineer in charge of gear accounts. The address for the new office will be 100 Menlo Park, Edison, N.J. 08817.

Also announced by Lufkin is the transfer of

John Fincher from Tripoli, Libya, to London,

England, where he is district manager of the new export office at 123 Pall Mall, London

S.W. 1, England, and Robert Evans from New

York City to Singapore, where he is district manager of the new export office at 126 Eng

Neo Avenue, Singapore 11, Singapore.

Other district export offices of Lufkin Over- seas Corporation, S.A. are located at Maracaibo and Anaco, both in Venezuela, and Bogota,

Colombia.

Dravo Corporation Delivering 20 Barges To Valley Line

Twenty covered hopper barges, enough to make up a tow of 32,000 tons, are being delivered by

Dravo Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pa., to Chrom- alloy American Corporation for its subsidiary,

The Valley Line Company of St. Louis. Delivery of the 200-foot by 35-foot by 12-foot vessels will be completed this fall.

Designed by Dravo for maximum stress resist- ance and minimum maintenance, the barges will also be equipped with weathertight hatch covers for added cargo protection. They meet or exceed the American Bureau of Shipping requirements in all respects.

The Valley Line is one of the largest barge lines operating on the inland waterways with its fleet of over 700 barges and 20 towboats. It ser- vices over 11-million tons of cargo per year on the Mississippi River and its tributaries.

Lufkin Export Headquarters

Moves From NYC To Houston —Office Opened In New Jersey

Rojert Gibbs

John Fincher

T.L. Bowers

Robert Evans 40 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News