Product of the Month – Porta-Gantry A-frame crane

It’s a lifting system that probably goes back into the mists of time. We’re talking about our Product of the Month for December – the Porta-Gantry.

The device is an A-frame crane which looks simple, is simple to use, and (by gum) it does a simply very good job.

The Hird Porta-Gantry is so simple that, as we say, you can imagine cavemen balancing a log between two trees to roast a mammoth leg using the same technique.

Easy to assemble

The A-frame crane, or gantry crane as it is also called, has stood the test of time, because our Porta-Gantry is a popular addition to our lifting hire inventory.

It is made up of four simple and portable components that can be quickly and safely assembled to provide a crane with a lifting capacity that can range from of up to 5,000kg.

That is an impressive figure for lifting equipment that weighs between 92kg and 294kg, depending on its configuration.

Not that our Porta-Gantry is close to the top of the impressive A-frame cranes of all time league.

Samson and Goliath

Perhaps the most famous gantry cranes in the UK, if not the world, are Samson and Goliath – two giant yellow beasts and the Harland and Wolfe Shipyard in Northern Ireland.

For half a century they have dominated the Belfast skyline and are now preserved – more likely to impress tourists than help build big ships now.

They stand 96m (Goliath) and 106m (tall) and can lift up to 840 tonnes. But they are lifting pipsqueaks when compared with the Taisan gantry crane.

It is the world’s largest and can lift up to 20,000 tonnes. The Taisan gantry crane is located in Yantai, Shandong Province, China, and is used in the construction of offshore drilling rigs, among other things.

It has won international awards for improving lifting efficiency and safety, saving many millions of person hours to build sea-going structures.

Which brings us back nicely to the Hird Porta-Gantry.

Saving time, reducing cost

It also saves time, makes jobs easier and allows them to be completed in less time. The jobs are just a little smaller.

The crane is easy to move about and position accurately thanks to its 360 degree swivel castors which can be firmly locked during lifting.

All terrain castors are also available for operating the Porta-Gantry over uneven ground.

The height and span on the lifting beam can be quickly and easily manually adjusted to create the optimum lifting system.

All components for the Porta-Gantry are stowed on a trolley so the equipment can be safely and quickly transported to a lifting site.

The Hird Porta-Gantry is designed and approved for lifting all types of loads, including personnel lifting, for example for carrying out shaft inspections.