NAI Builds Overhead Cranes to Be Used in Multiple Plants
August 2006
 Overcoming the challenge of designing cranes with adjustable spans, North American Industries (NAI) engineered two cranes with the ability to fit in 6 different plants owned by Alcoa Inc. NAI originally installed the cranes in Massena, NY where they were successfully utilized by Alcoa to renovate the plant’s melting furnaces. The overhaul was completed in July and the cranes will be put in storage until next spring when Alcoa will use them again to renovate melting furnaces in another U.S. plant.
Fluor, a large design and engineering firm, will facilitate all of the furnace overhauls for Alcoa. Both Alcoa and Fluor saw the cranes as a worthwhile investment especially due to the re-usability of the two cranes in the renovation of melting furnaces in numerous manufacturing plants located in the U.S. Hatch Engineering, a company that does design improvements and maintenance work for Alcoa, also supported the decision to purchase cranes from NAI.
Alcoa is the largest aluminum producer in the world with revenues of $26.2 billion in 2005. Alcoa has purchased multiple cranes from NAI over the years, maintaining a long-running relationship between the two companies.
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