NFT expands Potain fleet in Kuwait with high-profile deals

NFT, one of the world's leading tower crane suppliers, continues to enjoy regional growth in the Middle East. The company has boosted its market presence in Kuwait with a number of deliveries to major projects in their country. One of the most significant has been the first Potain self-erecting cranes entering the country. The customer, Nasser Al Hajri & Partners Company, bought an Igo T 130 and an Igo 50, both of which are being used to lift pipes and support the installation of heavy materials at the Mina Al Ahmadi and Mina Abdullah (MAB) refineries owned by Kuwait National Petroleum Company.

NFT also won its first ever contract with local construction giant Combined Group Contracting (CGC). The company has supplied a number of high capacity MD 1100 and MD 550 cranes to lead construction on a $164 million car park facility for Kuwait's Ministry of Finance at Al-Farawaniya, Al-Farwaniyah Governorate, Kuwait.

Nabil Al Zahlwai, CEO at NFT, said the deliveries were particularly notable.

“These deliveries mark the first appearance in Kuwait of both self-erecting and high-capacity MD special applications cranes,” he said. “Potain has the most comprehensive range of tower cranes in the world and these projects are a great opportunity to show the market what they can do. Our team in Kuwait, led by Yousef El Ghabra and Fadi Daher, has worked extremely hard to win these contracts, but our unique experience and expertise with tower cranes means we’re already repaying our customers’ faith by providing first-class support, even with stringent project requirements.”

The high capacity MD cranes are needed because of the precast concrete sections used in the car park design. These require loads of up to 20 t to be lifted, so NFT specified four MD 1100 and two MD 550 cranes, with jib lengths ranging from 40 m to 70 m and working heights from 50 m to 73 m. The maximum capacity of the MD 1100 models is 40 t, while the MD 550 can lift up to 25 t.

NFT is providing full Manitowoc Crane Care support on the car park project. This includes operators, technical study and support, and delivery and installation on site of the cranes. Fadi Daher, senior sales manager at NFT, said this was another important differentiator that helped secure the contract.

“We have technicians installed permanently on site, so there is always someone there, no matter what time,” he said. “We also have a container of spare parts on site, so any downtime is minimised.”

Construction of the car park started in June 2016 with the tower cranes arriving in May 2017. CGC is renting the cranes from NFT over 29 months under a “lease to own” finance program. This flexible arrangement gives CGC the opportunity to utilise the cranes on future projects.

“We always try to be as flexible as possible for our clients,” Daher said. “The customer is satisfied with NFT’s and the tower cranes’ performance and has invited us to bid for other projects.”