Business profile
stands can be designed in accordance with the client’s requirements.
Mechan also offers a completely bespoke service for the design and specification of vehicle traversers and turntables. From concept to manufacture and installation, the firm can produce equipment that meets individual workshop and vehicle designs. Sizes range from 60 tonne units, capable of handling a single railcar, to 170 tonne capacity freight locomotive versions.
Tried and tested technology A commitment to updating and streamlining its handling products drives the development of Mechan’s most popular lines, which include jacks, jib cranes, wheelset and bogie drops, bogie manipulators and lifters.
The firm’s expert engineers have refined Mechan’s intelligent lifting jacks to enable co-ordinated multiple use to a 3mm tolerance. A mobile version with either a fixed or moving anvil is also available for added flexibility. They are quick to set up, interlink and substitute, while rail-mounted jacks with moving anvils can be provided if necessary. They range from five tonnes to 45 tonnes and have been devised to cater for all uses including trams, metros, light rail systems, main lines and heavy on-track plant. Mechan’s general-purpose lifting products, which include swing jib cranes, have various rail applications. Cranes may be freestanding or wall-mounted, with either chain or wire rope hoists. More than 700 formats are available, with standard capacities of up to five tonnes.
Bogie drops
Demand for bogie and wheelset drop systems has surged, as train operators maintain the latest rolling stock at purpose-built traincare centres. At many locations, Mechan’s bogie drops were specified in the original depot design.
Drop systems facilitate safe and swift removal and replacement of entire bogies, wheelsets and under-floor units from rail vehicles without decoupling. This makes a bogie change feasible within two hours, while time can also be saved on other under-floor work.
The scissor-type hydraulic system has been used at some depots, but Mechan’s ‘intelligent’ screw-jack mechanism is now favoured for its operating qualities and its greatly reduced pit-depth, minimising civil costs.
Bogie handling
Bogie lifting platforms are designed to make maintenance easier, allowing the operator to raise the bogie to a comfortable working height. Platforms are located within the workshop floor and when a bogie needs to be lifted, they are activated via the control unit or remote handset. The two rail sections rise up until they are at the desired working height.
Mechan’s bogie turntable is used to transfer bogies between roads within maintenance facilities. It is designed to enable complete rail vehicles to roll over it at low speed, while the wheelset turntable transfers wheelsets between roads in maintenance facilities. Bogie frame manipulators lift and rotate a bogie during maintenance and refurbishment, providing access to all areas in an ergonomic and safe manner. They are fitted with rotating faceplates on the front of the lifting carriages and have modified feet to provide a wide and stable base. These manipulators work in pairs, controlled from a single panel mounted at the rear of the master unit.
Other handling equipment offered by Mechan includes wheelset lifting beams, bogie stands, low and high level stands and one-piece bogie stacking frames.
Focusing on the future
The company boasts long-standing relationships with some of the most prestigious names in the transport industry, who have rail depots across the world. They include Siemens, Alstom, Bombardier, Hitachi, Network Rail and Hong Kong’s MTR Corporation. Export business is becoming increasingly important to Mechan’s growth and last year accounted for 25 per cent of turnover, compared to just 2 per cent in 2005. Despite recent economic turbulence, the firm has managed to maintain sales and profit and has even opened up new markets in Taiwan, New Zealand and Belgium.
Interest from clients in new countries is still forthcoming, thanks largely to the firm’s global network of agents who are spreading the word about its wide range of products. For further information on Mechan’s depot maintenance products, telephone 0114 257 0563, email:
info@mechan.co.uk or visit
www.mechan.co.uk
PAGE 70 FEBRUARY 2013
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