As heavy lift needs continue to rise across a number of sectors, securing heavy lift providers early in the planning process becomes even more crucial for contractors. Trends show an increased work volume in liquefied natural gas export terminals, downstream natural gas processing and in a variety of modular construction arenas.
Natural gas costs have now made the United States the lowest cost chemical producer in the world outside of the Middle East, creating a surge in chemical plant construction. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, chemical producers added nearly 12,000 jobs in the past year, the highest gain in 25 years. An additional 46,000 jobs are expected to be created by decade’s end.
With the tremendous increase in labor requirements, it is expected equipment needs will increase correspondingly. Petrochemical plant projects have a strong reliance on heavy lift crawler cranes and, with the relatively smaller number of available crawler cranes in comparison, it is important for heavy lift providers to be brought in early in the project in order to comply with contractors’ scheduling needs. In addition to securing the equipment, inclusion of lift providers early on allows for more effective job scheduling around other project milestones, optimal design of lift points and minimization of needed workarounds for equipment.
To stay ahead of client needs, specialized lifting provider Burkhalter Rigging Inc. has recently acquired multiple heavy lift crawler cranes to add to the company’s fleet. Burkhalter is a heavy lift, engineered rigging and transport provider servicing power, petrochemical, civil, offshore and marine industries throughout North America and South America. Burkhalter is headquartered in Columbus, Miss., with offices throughout the Southeast and Midwest United States.
The addition of heavy lift crawler cranes will allow Burkhalter to even better service clients across power, petrochemical, offshore and civil markets. Early planning and front-end engineering design will allow Burkhalter’s clients to capitalize on the acquisition of this new equipment and increase project efficiency and scheduling demands.
The majority of currently planned petrochemical projects are designated to take place in the Texas and Louisiana markets where infrastructure already exists. With locations in the Southeast, including Columbus and the recently expanded Houston operating facility, Burkhalter is able to cost effectively service clients’ needs throughout the region by taking advantage of reduced equipment mobilization costs.
For more information, visit www.burkhalter.net or call (800) 748-9950.
