Crossrail Video

Back in October last year I was invited to go and visit one of the Crossrail sites where a Schwing pump was being used by Kelly Formwork to pour the concrete 'base' slab inside the rail tunnels. While there I took the opportunity to shoot some video of what was going on. I went back again last week to get some final shots and a couple of extra interviews. Here is the finished edited result...



On the day I was there Kelly Formwork used our SP3500 to pump concrete through over 1.3km of horizontal pipeline, finishing the pour in one of the tunnels and setting a new UK record for concrete distance pumping in the process.

Everyone involved was very pleased with the equipment and service Schwing Stetter had provided - and were happy to say so. It's always good to get positive feedback like this.

It was also really great to have a chance to experience the Crossrail project for myself, walk through some tunnels including under the Thames and see the tunnel development process.

Picture This

Having been building up a stock of pictures of our machines out on site hard at work, it was thought time to start putting some of these on display. Here is the result so far - making one particular wall much more interesting.

Heading Up North

On Friday I headed up North to visit a couple of our machines on site. It was a reasonably early 4:30am set off time which meant I reached Leeds a little after 9 o'clock. They were using a Schwing S39SX to pour slabs in a new medium rise construction near the city centre (see below).

Then it was off to Preston where Lancashire Country Council were using a Schwing S43SX to place concrete under a new section of road which they were widening (see above).

There was a light layer of snow blanketing the countryside alongside the M62 on the way to Preston which helped make the area very picturesque. It looked like a lovely part of the country - even if just from the windows a passing vehicle on the motorway.

Everyone I spoke to was very happy with their Schwing equipment which is always good to hear when you have travelled that far.

Come mid afternoon it was time to head back down to London. I arrived back just after 7pm after a long but pleasant and fruitful day.

Under The Banner

Along with the plates and stickers we recently had made up, we also had a banner made by the same people to hang from the top of the factory. This we hung with pride this afternoon.

Oliver Connell (the company as opposed to the person - although it is his company...) were very kind in lending us their scissor lift for a short while to tie it up there.

When I first unfurled the banner across the floor I was very concerned that it was far too big. I had measured it and knew it to be around the right size to fit in the space we had but it just looked huge close up. Now that it's all the way up there stuck to the roof up I can't help thinking maybe it's a bit too small! Mind you, any bigger and it might not fit properly.

Either way I think it makes a nice edition to the premises...

Some Recognition

Having churned out numerous custom built truck mounted static concrete pumps and other bespoke work for customers, Rob our chief welder remarked that it was unfortunate that people who saw them out and about wouldn't realise we had done all the bodywork customisation as well. They'll just think we did the pump but they won't know we started with a truck chassis which needed to be cut down and added everything on there ourselves.

So we've had some plates and stickers made up to let people know. Here is Rob proudly mounting the first such plate onto a customised truck mixer. And here it is below...

Exhibitionists

Yesterday I caught the train up to Birmingham to visit the UK Concrete Show. It's always interesting to see who else is doing what in the concrete pumping industry; as well as all the other new ideas and technologies across the concreting sector.

Having been very busy we decided we weren't going to be able to have a stall there this year and also one at Intermat in April. Transporting equipment, kitting out a space and all the additional requirements twice in almost as many months was going to stretch our resources a bit far. However it was good to pop up and have a look around.

Heaving it wasn't. I recognised many of the people wandering around as people who I had seen with stands of their own.

A few of us went up separately. One of our engineers left after an hour.

Still I enjoyed the chance to speak to a few of our clients and catch up with some of our sales and backup guys who are more often navigating their way around the great expansive corners of our country as they make sure all is well with our clients.

For those who turned up in the hope of seeing the Schwing Stetter stand, we will instead be showing off our new series 3 43 metre boom pump, our new mid range SP3800 stationary pump and our new Hi-Lo pressure control system at Intermat in April. See you there!

Open To Ideas

A few mornings ago, Rob our chief welding engineer asked me to get some video of something he had just finished customising.

A client had asked if we could adjust a truck mixer so the drum flap could open all the way up so the mixture could be properly inspected. The answer was of course 'yes' - we are an engineering company after all. So here we have the hydraulic fully opening drum flap on a mixer truck, custom engineered by the Schwing Stetter (UK) team.

Apparently the client was so impressed they have ordered a whole lot more of them!

You can see how it works here below. The first video was taken before the safety guard was attached so you can see the workings. The second is after it was put on.






See more about our customisation on our website here: http://www.schwing-stetter.co.uk/Pages/Customisation.aspxhttp://www.schwing-stetter.co.uk/Pages/Customisation.aspx.

Expert Advice

Having arrived early to ensure I was ready for a meeting first-thing about our quotations procedures, I was asked by Scott (our chief engineer) at about 8am if I could go and pick up a chap from the airport. Apparently his flight had been delayed by around two hours and, due to other commitments Andy wasn't able to pick him up at the later time.

Being in Perivale, Heathrow airport isn't actually very far away from us. If there was no traffic it would be a 30 minute round trip. However at around 8:30am? Middle of the morning rush? 30 minutes is almost taken up trying to reach the end of the road!

However, get there I did in the end (with the meeting postponed by a few hours). The chap turned out to be Andre, an engineer who had popped over from Germany (our main office and factory) for two days to help us sort out an issue with a client's machine.

Giving him a lift to his hotel on my way home at the end of the day, I found out it was one of our S61 SX mobile pumps (which is so big that the 5 axle chassis is dwarfed by the only half extended boom in this picture). He had come to sort out a difficult issue to do with the remote control system - which he had done. So now he was about to enjoy a well earned proper British cider or 2 (which he said is difficult to find in Germany) and a rest before visiting the client the next day.