One of Kennards Lift & Shift ’s Greenlee electric capstan winches was hired to assist contractor, Complete Underground Power Installations, with a major transmission cable laying project at the Boddington bauxite mine.

CUPI laid 9000 metres of 66KV 150mm cable, of which 2200 metres was pulled through conduit and around bends.

Andrew Gorringe, the firm’s managing director says: “This is very heavy cable, with 1500m on each drum and weighing 16 tonne.”

“We bolted the winch to a trailer for maximum flexibility. As it worked so well the first time, we used it to pull in another 9000 metres of 66KV 150 MM cable.”

These capstan winches have a maximum capacity of 8000lb (3.5 tonne pulling force). One of its major features is its force gauge, which allows the pulling force to be monitored, to avoid overloading.

They feature a Pelican double braided cable pulling rope, with a breaking strain of 4 times its maximum rated capacity.