Challenge
Cape plc is an international leader in the provision of critical industrial services. The company regularly hires in cranes for maintenance work at Syngenta’s award-winning Huddersfield Manufacturing Centre. Syngenta manufactures several of its important crop protection products at the facility, for export worldwide. Cape’s team required crane mats that were easy to lift and handle, gave them flexibility for different loads, and enabled them to work in confined spaces.
Solution
Outriggerpads provided Cape plc with two types of crane mat. The first type is 1.5m x 1.5m pads, incorporating four metal bars to facilitate lifting hooks. Weighing 225kg each, they are considerably lighter than the equivalent sized steel pads, but have a greater load bearing capability of up to 200 tonnes.
Cape also invested in an Interlocking Multi Mat system from Outriggerpads. Operators are able to stack the mats in various configurations, depending on available space and load capacity requirements.
Both the crane mats and the Multi-Mat system are made from high-density polyethylene (HDPE). Outriggerpads was the first company in the UK to offer 1.5m x 1.5m HDPE crane mats. This material is resistant to water, oil and chemicals – and unlike metal or wooden spreader plates, there’s no risk of corrosion or splintering.
Outcome
The 1.5m crane pads are quick to set up and used by Cape plc when space is not an issue. In tighter spots, Cape plc deploys the interlocking Multi Mat system. This is sufficiently light weight that it can be set up by hand. With six configurations offering load capacities of 75 to 160 tonnes, the system is designed to support a wide range of mobile cranes.
