Purchasing a new crane for your workplace usually means a considerable investment and it is therefore important to ensure you get the maximum possible usage out of the system to get value for money.
Suffolk based manufacturer M&H Plastics recently contacted Pelloby to extend a bay of freestanding gantry steelwork and in doing so boosted the usability of an existing overhead crane.
Why the need for the gantry extension?
M&H Plastics are a prominent UK player in the production of high quality plastic bottles, jars, tubing, and closing. With over 1200 products across their extensive range, M&H house a lot of cutting edge machinery at their impressive 50-acre manufacturing site near Beccles to accommodate the required level of production.
Back in 2011 Pelloby supplied an 8.1 metre span overhead crane for an existing gantry runway for one building at this site which served a number of injection moulding machines.
However, after six years of use, changing operational demands lead to M&H Plastics contacting Pelloby again in early 2017 to extend the freestanding gantry steelwork on which this crane runs.
Increasing the long travel potential
The extension, which took place in March 2017, comprised of three single supporting columns and a double run of horizontal gantry beams. This increased the gantry steelwork by a further 17 metres, providing increased longitudinal travel distance enough for the crane to comfortably serve three new injection moulding machines that were added to the building.
The crane itself featured a single girder design with a 4 metre height of lift and a two tonne capacity. The long travel, chain hoist cross travel and vertical hoisting motions were electric powered with each being controlled from a single pendant remote.
Graham Lazzari, Technical Manager at M&H Plastics explained that working with Pelloby on the gantry extensions project was a positive and productive experience – “I’ve dealt with these guys on a few occasions and always found them very approachable, professional and efficient at what they do.”
If you have a gantry crane that needs to be extended or would like to speak to an expert about your lifting requirements, give our team a call on 01952 586626 or email sales@pelloby.com.