World’s “most powerful shear” unveiled in Australia

The Shearcore FS-245R shear attachment in use at the Gove Refinery site. (PHOTO: Liberty Industrial)

The Fortress FS-245R shear was designed and built by manufacturer Shearcore, which client Liberty Industrial had tasked with designing a shear “more powerful than anything on the market, but light enough to be mounted at 20-metre pin height on its fleet of 200-t high reach excavators”.

A second-generation model, the FS-245R was manufacturer by Shearcore. It weighs 23 tonnes – three tonnes less than comparable models on the market – and can cut heavy infrastructure steel in an average of just one cut, rather than the three cuts of its predecessor model.

Described as a “true team effort”, the development of shear is the result of three years’ hard work and collaboration between Liberty Industrial.

Simon Gill, Director of Liberty Industrial, said: “We wanted to deliver a solution that would increase efficiency and reduce risk across our portfolio of global closure projects.

“This shear enables us to significantly reduce the potential exposure times of our personnel while also improving overall efficiency in demolition and scrap processing.”

The FS-245R is currently being used on Liberty Industrial’s Gove Refinery Demolition Project.

The Shearcore FS-245R shear attachment in use at the Gove Refinery site. (PHOTO: Liberty Industrial)

Liberty Industrial said: “Delivering more piercing force than any shear on the market at a lighter weight, the shear, mounted at 20m pin height on one of Liberty’s 200t high reach excavators, reduces the risk profile by allowing operators to mechanically demolish large heavy steel structures that would otherwise require high risk induce collapse methods or large cranes to dismantle.

“At ground level it reduces the need for hand processing of thick steel plate and heavy beams and columns. The FS245R plays a pivotal role in removing personnel from the work front, maximising mechanical methods, and ultimately making the demolition environment safer.”