Founded in 1914, Chicago Tube and Iron is one of the largest steel service centers in the United States, with 10 subsidiaries throughout the Midwest United States.
A lifetime ago
Konecranes and Chicago Tube and Iron have an interesting relationship, which took root even before they started working together. Konecranes main contact at Chicago Tube and Iron is a former supervisor at another tube mill, where Konecranes worked for years. “They had a huge plant, with nearly 400 overhead and workstation crane units,” explained David Doran, service sales representative for Konecranes.
At this tube mill, Konecranes had used its MAINMAN inspection program, which systematically recommends priority repairs based on safety and production needs—with the goal of eliminating breakdowns all together. “When the repairs recommended by MAINMAN are performed, overhead cranes can reach an optimal level of performance. In only a few years, that is exactly what happened at this Tube mill,” said Doran.
Before Konecranes serviced Chicago Tube and Iron’s Indianapolis’ overhead cranes, the facility encountered downtime delays that were not acceptable for their 24-hour operation. Now with Konecranes servicing their cranes, downtime for the year has been nominal— affecting less than one working shift.
Up and running
When the plant manager transitioned into a job at Chicago Tube and Iron, he brought Konecranes with him. Konecranes determined his most used and critical crane and performed every repair recommended in the MAINMAN inspection report. “Now all four of the overhead cranes are performing safely and are reliable,” said Doran.
“This is critical for us, because we understand and are sensitive to the importance of keeping our 24-hour operation running,”
Related resource
Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) helps link production and consumption points in the U.S., and across the world, with a network to deliver the energy, food, raw materials, durable and consumer goods to support the nation’s growth.
Michael Hancock - District Technical Trainer
A program of regularly-scheduled crane inspections conducted by specially-trained, third-party technical professionals can save companies great expense by verifying compliance with local regulations and highlighting safety and production issues.
