ABUS EOT Cranes in the Samsung facilities in Poland

In December 2009, Samsung Electronics, a member of the South-Korean Samsung Group, acquired two factories from the Polish company Amica Wronki SA. Washing machines and refrigerators are produced there and will go to markets all over Europe.

Samsung searched for an optimal place in Europe for a production plant of home appliances. The challenge was to find a European “hub” which would improve logistics in supplying the whole continent with those goods. One of the goals was to minimise times of delivery of ready devices and spare parts. With Wronki in the province of Wielkopolska (Western part of Poland) the right location was finally found.

The crucial issue for this kind of project was to perform the delivery and erection of the cranes without stopping the running production. In order to meet these requirements for the factory of such a strategic meaning, Samsung has chosen the cranes and the experience of ABUS. The following features of the ABUS material handling equipment were important for the South-Korean producer: durability, low level of failures and easiness of service. The cranes are mainly used to serve running production machines e.g. hydraulic presses and injection moulding machines.

ABUS Crane Systems Polska (www.abuscranes.pl), the Polish daughter company of the German crane manufacturer ABUS Kransysteme GmbH, has delivered complex and comprehensive service in this project: design, production of steel structures and concrete foundations, delivery and erection of cranes, and technical approval. Six double girder cranes have been installed (ZLK type) with load capacities from 25 tons to 35 tons. Those EOT cranes have spans between 10 m and 28.5 m. ABUS has erected steel structures with a total weight of ca. 120 tons. In the factory area of approx. 35 000 m² almost 500 m³ of concrete has been used.

The erection activities were performed while the production of washing machines and refrigerators was running. This required flexibility and a specific approach during work. Extra precautions were taken to shield the production area from dust. Also the working order was adjusted to changes in the hall in order to avoid collisions.

In total the construction and erection works of ABUS Crane Systems Polska in the Samsung Wronki factory took three months.