A busy year for crane and transport events

KHL Group Conferences and exhibitions operate in all construction industry sectors, including construction, cranes and lifting, demolition, access, rental and specialized transport. In partnership with leading industry figures, corporations and associations worldwide, KHL has an expanding portfolio of international events and industry awards programmes across the industry.

First of all for the crane and transport industry in 2015 is the ESTA Awards of Excellence on 23 April at the Hilton Charles De Gaulle, France. The event is organised by KHL Group on behalf of the European Association of Abnormal Road Transport and Mobile Cranes and will be held during the Intermat exhibition in Paris, France.

The annual ESTA Awards of Excellence brings together the leading crane and heavy transport industry professionals in Europe. Over the years it has developed into the most prestigious European event for all ESTA members, affiliated companies, end users and manufacturers working in heavy haulage, transport and the lifting industry. Categories include crane job of the year, transport, SPMT, combined techniques and innovation and development. ESTA may also present the Gino Koster Award. The event offers opportunities to meet and network with fellow professionals throughout the evening and after the dinner.

ITC
Next in the calendar is the International Tower Cranes (ITC) conference, which will be held at the Millennium Gloucester hotel in Kensington in London, UK, on 27 and 28 May 2015. The event will include presentations on tower crane innovations, rental trends, project reports, safety issues and legislation updates.

The event will start with a networking reception on the evening of 27 May followed by a full-day conference programme on the 28th. Topics so far announced include crane foundation loads, the worldwide rental market, operator access hoists, Japanese luffing jib cranes and attracting new talent to the industry.

The keynote address on the worldwide tower crane market will be given by Philippe Cohet, chairman of Arcomet, while tower expert Heinz-Gert Kessel will report on the lessons that can be learned from the engineering design of Japan’s luffing jib cranes. Dave Holder, director and general manager of HTC Plant, will consider how the industry can attract young talent, and Jean-Charles Delplace, business development manager at Trimble Navigation, will look at the management of cranes on ‘connected’ sites. The conference includes two round-table panels: one on tower crane foundation loads – and with presentations on new FEM and CIRIA guidelines – and a second on operator access hoists for tower cranes.

Lift & Move
The following month, the Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association (SC&RA), KHL Group and the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO), will jointly hold Lift & Move USA.

The event, organised in cooperation with SkillsUSA, will be held in Chicago, USA, on 16 and 17 June and will help promote careers in the US crane, rigging and specialized transportation industries. During the two-day programme, students will be provided with advice on careers and job opportunities working with crane rental companies, specialized transportation businesses and equipment manufacturers. An evening reception will be hosted at Imperial Crane, which is supporting the event, located near the venue hotel, the Chicago Marriott Midway.

Joel Dandrea, SC&RA executive vice president, said, “Our industry creates thousands of rewarding jobs every year - jobs that offer the potential for long-term careers. Lift & Move USA will promote these opportunities to the next generation of employees, highlighting all sorts of jobs, from crane operators, truck drivers and CAD design engineers to mechanics, welders and sales staff.”

James King, KHL Group managing director, said, “KHL is delighted to be involved in Lift & Move USA. Recruitment of young staff is crucial to the long-term success of businesses, and this event will provide the US crane, rigging and specialized transport industry with a fantastic shop window for potential employees.”

WC&TS
Rounding out the year will be the World Crane and Transport Summit, to be held on 4 and 5 November, at the Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky in central Amsterdam, Netherlands. The event brings together key stakeholders in the global lifting and heavy transport industry. In 2014, more than 260 people attended the fourth World Crane and Transport Summit (WCTS), which was held for the first time in Florida, USA.

The Summit, now in its fifth year, returns to Amsterdam, with a two-day conference and a gala dinner on the evening of the 4th. The Summit has firmly established itself as a key meeting place for users and buyers of cranes and transport equipment as well as manufacturers and distributors. The event regularly attracts audiences from all over the world, including many of the largest crane and transport equipment owning companies.

As in previous years the Summit has the support of many of the leading crane and transport associations around the world, including The European Association of Abnormal Road Transport and Mobile Cranes (ESTA), Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association (SC&RA), Sindipesa, The Crane Industry Council of Australia (CICA) and Associpesa, together with many of their members.

Confirmed speakers for this year’s event includes keynote speaker Jan Kleijn, Mammoet Holding CEO; David Collett, Collett & Sons managaing director, who will provide a presentation on the new ESTA guidelines on the operation of self-propelled modular transporters, and Marco van Daal, The Works International, who will discuss accident prevention in the heavy transport industry. Further speakers so far confirmed include Hans Gotink, Executive coaching; Judy Goh Zhu Di, Senior consultant at Matcor Technology & Services Pte Ltd and Ton Klijn, managing director of Wagenborg Nedlift & board director, ESTA. The event will also include three round table discussions on developing crane rental markets of the world; industry recruitment; and trends and opportunities in wind turbine work.

For updates and full speaker programmes for all KHL events see www.khl.com/events