Type of works: A team of experienced structural engineers are responsible for the design of all Abacus column and mast structures and use the latest CAD mechanical desktop and finite element analysis software, ensuring the optimum engineering solution is designed to suit exact project requirements for the Port of Bilbao in Spain.

Abacus Lighting has completed the exterior lighting of many Ports across the world, including the Ports of Tilbury and Felixstowe (United Kingdom), Aden (Yemen), Vlissingen (Netherlands),  Columbo (Sir Lanka), St Petersburg (Russia), Guangzhout (China) and more recently, Port of Bilbao (Spain).

Port of Bilbao is a major inbound Port handling over half of European bound freight. In 2003 alone, the Port of Bilbao handled over 28million tonnes of goods, with more than 16 million tonnes of liquid bulks being handled by the Port each year, including energy commodities such as oil and gas.

The Port continues to develop and invest in improving its infrastructure and facilities. Current projects include the building of a new port, container terminals and docks. As a result of Infrastructure development, a requirement for additional lighting of new areas of the Port lead to the involvement of Abacus Lighting, who designed, manufacture and supplied the mast system for the project.

At the heart of most of the major Port Lighting projects Abacus has completed, has been the tried and trusted Abacus Raising and Lowering Winch Mast. For the Port of Bilbao, Abacus supplied 16, 30m raise and lowering winch mast systems with tripple pulleys, each designed with a headload capacity of 1,000kg and a headframe to accommodate 14 Challenger 3 floodlights.

As with the majority of Ports, access is restrictive and the operating environment is highly active which has a bearing on the type of mast that can be used. The key advantage of the Abacus RLW system is that it is excellent in confined spaces, presenting an ideal solution for applicatons such as Ports, Harbours and Airports.

The RLW system has the advantage that the headframe can be lowered to the ground using a manual or electrically powered winch system enabling installation and any necessary maintenance to be carried out at ground level and in complete safety. The system also offers long term cost savings for routine maintenance as the need for expensive access systems are eliminated.