Tenova TAKRAF has refurbished an SR 1300 large bucket wheel excavator that was built more than 27 years ago by the company. Work was carried out on time and in budget and the machine is now operating at KEK Kosovo’s Sibovc coal mine. Mechanical and electrical modifications were carried out in less than two years by TAKRAF/ABB/Vattenfall Mining Consulting and local partners. The 1,500 t machine was dismantled in big portions with parts repaired or replaced prior to reassembly and commissioning.

Under this EU financed project, ABB supplied all electrical components and Tenova TAKRAF provided the crawler, giant slew bearing between the upper and lower structure as well as the belt pulley. These parts, in addition to other components, were manufactured in Tenova TAKRAF’s workshop in Lauchhammer, Germany and helped update the bucket wheel excavator to the mine’s requirements.

In 2005, Takraf replaced the excavator’s entire bucket wheel head including all drive components, meaning that the recent refurbishment required modification of only one frequency control. Local companies took care of the new corrosion protection, crane employment, scaffolding and the majority of the labour required for the works. Tenova says, “This joint effort prepared the machine for the next decades of operation in this huge coal deposit, containing more than 1 billion tons (907 Mt) of coal reserves.”