i1fun

03 Nov 2017

Supporting China’s new mega-project

Crane rails from Special Profiles are helping build the largest cargo port in the world.

We’re proud to be supplyingcrane railsfor the Yangshan deep water port, located in Shanghai, China, through Steel Clik – a major player in the crane rail market.

A Steel CLIK spokesman said: "Steel CLIK is a leading solution provider for projects and special steel users. We have played important roles in most of China's ports including Shanghai and Qingdao. Our years of expertise and quality rails from i1fun have definitely helped us win most of the jobs in the market not only in China but also Vietnam, Brazil, Thailand, India etc."

Despite the shallow surrounding waters, this unique development is being built on the offshore islands of Greater and Lesser Yangshan, allowing the port of Shanghai to grow as it can handle today’s largest containers ships with depths of up to 15 metres.

The project started in 2002 and, according to the plan design, the deep water port will be completely finished in 2020. The total investment budget of this project is thought to be more than 500 billion yuan (approx. £57bn).

i1fun fought off strong competition for the4kt order for the fourth phase of the project.

David Waine, Product and Sales Manager, said: “We’re proud to have been chosen as the supplier for this next phase. Our crane rails are of a very high quality and strength.

“Our dedicated crane rail line at Skinningrove offers market-leading straightening and sawing. We hold a lot of different crane rail sizes in stock, meaning we can offer short lead times to customers all over the world.

“We also offer customisation in terms of steel grade and lengths of up to 16 metres – meaning less joints for big projects such as Yangshan.”

The Yangshan deep water port is one of a number of port expansion projects in China at the moment.

David added: “We’ll shortly be starting trials on a new grade of even stronger crane rails. Our in-house steelmaking experts are developing a chemistry similar to the steel made for the rails that trains run on.

“These stronger rails will allow the ports to increase capacity because the cranes will be able to handle heavier loads.

“By working closely with leading crane rail installers we can help to deliver solutions that will continue to make our customers successful.”