Menomonee Falls-based Magnetek Inc., a supplier of digital power and motion control systems, announced last week it received an order valued at more than $1 million to modernize the controls on four 300-ton power plant cranes for the Hoover Dam.
Magnetek is partnering with Precision Crane & Hoist Services of Nevada on the project. Magnetek controls are scheduled to be installed on each of the four cranes over a seven-month period, with the first installation scheduled for December.
Aging A.C. static crane controls will be retrofitted with Magnetek’s state-of-the-art control technology, including adjustable frequency drive panels and radio remote controls. Magnetek will provide complete control systems engineering and integration to meet the specifications of the Bureau of Reclamation, the operator of the Hoover Dam.
“Along with our partner on the project, we are very pleased to be able to assist the Bureau of Reclamation with the modernization of the cranes used in the Hoover Dam Power Plant,” said Dan Beilfuss, Magnetek’s director of sales. “The new crane control systems we are designing will utilize our technologically advanced drives and radio controls, providing crane operators at the Hoover Dam Power Plant with improved productivity, safety and reliability.”
The Hoover Dam has two power plant wings, one located in Nevada and one located in Arizona. Each power plant wing is 650 feet long and rises nearly 300 feet above the foundation of the power plant. Two 300-ton cranes are located inside each power plant wing and are used to move and maintain the 17 main vertical hydraulic turbines housed in the wings. The Hoover Dam Power Plant, one of the country’s largest hydroelectric installations, generates approximately 4 billion kilowatt-hours of hydroelectric power on average each year, enough to serve 1.3 million people in Arizona, Nevada, and California.
