Reid Lifting, a manufacturer of lightweight gantry cranes, has bolstered the stock of two distribution partners in Holland.
Rental equipment company Boels Verhuur B.V Sittard and Hef & Hijs Nederland B.V. (HHN), a subsidiary of the international Boels hire empire, have both taken delivery of Porta-Gantry and Porta-Gantry Rapide units, in addition to lifting accessories. The orders add to existing fleets at Boels and HHN.
Boels, which has a history of acquisitions, added HHN to its portfolio as a specialist provider of lifting and hoisting equipment in the Benelux countries. Boels itself offers a broader equipment range, covering powered access, earthmoving, landscaping, handling, and more from a multitude of depots across the UK and central Europe.
The Boels order included nearly 60 gantries of varying height configurations and beam lengths, and covered the breadth of the Porta-Gantry capacity range from 1,000kg to 5,000kg working load limit (WLL). The HHN order, meanwhile, included 20 Porta-Gantry cranes in the 2,000kg to 5,000kg range, as well as seven Porta-Gantry Rapides, plus accessories.
Bastiaan de Koning, of Boels, said: “The Reid range is popular among our customer base and boasts many features that we can leverage to the local hire market. One person can quickly assemble these products, for example. Constant evolution of the gantries is another appeal. We expect utilisation from a range of industries, including construction, marine, repair, and maintenance, with hires varying from a single day to mid-term rental.”
Tim Battersby, technical sales engineer at Reid, said: “Interestingly, the HHN order included a number of the new, 3,000kg gated trolley models. The order stands out in its own right but we were particularly pleased that this product innovation, and its relevance to the rental market, was realised by their team. The gated trolley has a rotating plate and quick release pin for easy and rapid attachment to the beam. Practically, it allows the user to attach several trolleys to the beam after the gantry has been fully assembled.”
The new Porta-Gantry Rapide is a higher capacity version of the manufacturer’s 500kg capacity units of the same name. Each gantry offers three height and length options, meaning nine variations are available at each capacity. The 1,000kg Rapide expanded on an already renowned range, which brought a new level of portability and ease of assembly to the gantry crane market when it was introduced back in 2011. The Rapide is both goods and personnel rated (tested for up to three people as a fall arrest system), further enhancing its versatility.
Battersby said: “Our presence in the central European market has shown steady growth over the past few years, mainly due to our close partnerships with companies like Boels and HHN. We believe that the work that these companies do in promoting the Reid product will help to strengthen our position further in years to come. For such a large player in the European rental market to make this investment speaks volumes about the confidence they have in the Reid product range.”
Mike Tilly, product specialist at HHN, echoed the sentiments of de Koning and added: “The new [Reid] equipment has been added to the rental fleet and we’re already making the expanded offering known to previous, existing, and prospective customers. We look forward to sharing case studies and success stories in due course.”
Reid was recently acquired by Pure Lifting, a holding company formed to create a global portfolio of innovative, portable equipment businesses.
Mike Tilly (left), of HHN, and Bastiaan de Koning (centre), of Boels, with Reid’s Tim Battersby, at HHN headquarters in Dordrecht, Netherlands.