Konecranes to Supply Coker Crane to Cuddalore Refinery for India's Nagarjuna Oil Corporation Limited


SPRINGFIELD, Ohio, July 22, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nagarjuna Oil Company Limited (NOCL) has selected Konecranes to provide the coker crane for a new greenfield petroleum refinery at Cuddalore, Tami Nadu approximately 180 km south of Chennal on the Bay of Bengal.

It is a state-of-the-art project that will refine 6 million metric tonnes of crude petroleum per year, primarily to supply the growing energy needs of southern India. The project site is spread over an area of 1600 acres, including 300 acres of greenbelt.

Nagarjuna group has partnered with the State Government of Tamil Nadu and Tata Petrodyne Ltd. to implement the refinery project. The company has also drawn up key alliances with technology and service providers for speedy project implementation. According to NOCL, forging mutually beneficial relationships with established market players has been one of the key strengths of the company.

Konecranes is the dominant supplier of coker cranes to India. The Nagarjuna coker will be the ninth coker crane Konecranes has sold to India since 2003. Konecranes was contacted through Technip India, part of the Technip Group in Paris, who had worked with Konecranes on previous projects.

The NOCL crane is a single-leg gantry design, with a capacity of 32 tonnes and a 15 cubic meter bucket, operating on a 23.8-meter span. It is semi-automated and includes the latest versions of Konecranes proprietary value-added load control technologies, which manage a number of critical functions to reduce structural stress, increase efficiency and prolong equipment life.

DynAGrab has been designed to control the two hoisting machineries that handle the mechanical bucket. A semi-automation feature allows the operator to program designated locations for the bucket: if the operator presses the button for the hopper, the crane automatically positions the bucket in the prescribed position. It also has been designed to allow for teachable destinations, which can be employed during any part of the production process, from clearing the coke pit to placing the finished product on the conveyor that transports it to a barge or rail car.

The energy-saving DynAReg feature has been designed to eliminate the issue of resistors wearing out and be environmentally responsible, as it recycles braking power back into the electrical grid. DynAPilot load sway control minimizes load sway due to bridge and trolley motion, reducing collisions between the bucket and the pit walls or hopper and dramatically reducing risk of damage. It also makes it easier to transfer a full bucket of material into the hopper without spillage. Sway control increases operator confidence, reduces training time and allows operation of the crane to its full potential.

According to Don Paulino, product manager for Konecranes, this project is a good example of the global nature of coker crane supply, as the original contact came through Technip Paris, in connection with a project in Germany. "There are relatively few companies equipped to supply and support coker cranes in India," says Paulino. "So far, we have a perfect track record of project execution there. One reason is that a Konecranes service branch is routinely established for each new coker crane sold in India, which helps us deliver the lowest lifecycle cost benefits that our customers have come to expect," he continued.

Konecranes India provides full operation and maintenance contracts, local installation support, and local project management, with engineering support from Houston, Texas and Finland.

The NOCL coker crane will be built in Houston, Texas and will ship in 2012.

To find out more about Konecranes or for more material handling products and services, contact Konecranes, Inc. toll free at 1.800.231.0241 or visit www.konecranesamericas.com.

Further information:

Press

Doug Maclam, VP, Sales and Marketing, Konecranes America

E-mail: doug.maclam@konecranes.com or phone 281.445.2225

About Konecranes America

Konecranes America specializes in engineered, severe-duty cranes for process industries and high capacity, service duty cranes from 5 to 500 tons, including: hot metal ladle cranes, scrap-handling cranes, coker cranes, automated paper rolls and steel coil handling cranes and cranes for other difficult operating environments.

About Konecranes Plc.

Konecranes is a world-leading group of Lifting Businesses™, serving a broad range of customers, including manufacturing and process industries, shipyards, ports and terminals. Konecranes provides productivity-enhancing lifting solutions as well as services for lifting equipment and machine tools of all makes.

In 2010, Group sales totaled EUR 1,546 million. The Group has 10,000 employees at 578 locations in 46 countries. Konecranes is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki (Helsinki:KCR1V).

This press release is available at our website www.konecranesamericas.com.

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