Hercules heaves-ho for the troops

Lexington, KY
(January 2006) – With their Link-Belt HTC-8690 90-ton (81.7 mt) and RTC-80100 Series II 100-ton (90.7 mt) hydraulic cranes, Hercules Heavy Lift, a wholly owned subsidiary of Star Intermodal Transportation, Inc., has proven that it’s up to the task of serving our country. When it comes to patriotism, productivity, and profitability, only the best equipment is good enough for owner and founder, Ken New. Under this former Marine Corps officer, the company has a significant, if understated, role in the defense of the United States. Hercules is helping supply American soldiers with the best combat equipment. The Orange Park, Florida company is a vital link in the military’s supply chain.

As an example, a load of equipment recently arrived from the Middle East. It was scheduled for quick cross-country rail transport to California. One call to the company owner quickly mobilized his men and machines. To meet the time-critical schedule, Mr. New activated his crew for a day shift despite them having worked through the night. The Link-Belt HTC-8690 and RTC-80100 cranes were up to the task. Staged face to face at an Intermodal freight yard near Charleston, South Carolina, the machines took turns placing military transporters on railcars.

In addition to scheduling flexibility, Hercules has also mastered operational flexibility. The size, shape, and weights of these loads vary greatly. Because of security concerns, a Hercules crew never knows what it will handle until it arrives onsite. Boom lengths and angles, consequently, can vary with each load. The Pentagon’s Chief of Public Affairs, Media Relations Division, said the next shipment could be containers, 25-ton (22.7 mt) Abrams Mark I Battle Tanks, 33-ton (29.9 mt) Bradley Fighting Vehicles, Paladin M-109’s, 155-mm Self Propelled Weapons, or tank retrieval vehicles.

The HTC-8690 makes operational flexibility routine. “The new computer system that we have in the 90-ton (81.7 mt) machine that I operate is as important a feature as there is on the HTC-8690. It enables me to work significantly more efficiently than I could otherwise,” said the operator. “The importance of this is very evident, especially when the cargo comes packed in containers. Although they supposedly have shipping weights listed on the manifest, essentially we are working in the blind. One closed container looks similar to any other container. With the crane’s computer I not only get an accurate hook weight, I get a safe load weight at any boom length, angle, and radius. This is especially important when we are working our two Link-Belt cranes in tandem. Each crane usually has 1300 pounds (6 mt) of rigging, too.”

Of course, operational flexibility is important only when the crane is onsite. “Mobility and maneuverability are also significant considerations,” said owner New. “We work our cranes wherever they tell us to go. That’s part of the deal. The staging area can be anywhere from dockside to near the railhead on an Intermodal yard to an offloading area on a military base. The distances can be as short as half a mile to as great as a thousand miles apart, depending on where the cranes are needed. A graphic example of this is the log of our Link-Belt HTC-8690. In one period of time in which the hour meter indicated only 45 hours, the odometer registered 400 over-the-road miles. When we were handling the 19,000-pound (8.6 mt) flatbed transporters, our two crews averaged 80 picks a day.”

“It’s easy to understand why we depend on our rubber-tired Link-Belt cranes, the manufacturer, and our dealer, Kelly Tractor Co., when we put these hours and miles on them,” continued New. “It has been my experience in the past that sometimes a company (dealer and/or manufacturer) will stay with you until the sale is consummated and then you either get a run-around or they forget all about you. With the around-the-clock demands for service by some of our clients, with no excuses accepted, we must have service from our suppliers, too. We get that from Link-Belt and Kelly Tractor. As a Link-Belt Preferred Customer we have 24-7 computer access with the factory,” he added.

For Ken New and Hercules, Link-Belt was an easy decision. “As I said, only the best is good enough.”