Industrial Cranes

American Equipment Logo

Industrial Cranes from American Equipment

At Great Western, we strive to ensure that our customers receive the highest quality products and that their new building is exactly what they want it to be. That’s why we recommend American Equipment to any customer needing an industrial crane for their facility. Many of our customers with commercial or industrial buildings need cranes, and the variety of options from American Equipment ensures that virtually any use case can be catered to.

Don’t know quite what you need? We’re happy to work with American Equipment’s team to ensure you get not only the crane ideally suited for your needs but also a building perfectly suited for your crane. Additionally, if your building is already erected, American Equipment still has a solution for you. Not all cranes require special building designs or modifications to support them.

Let’s take a look American Equipment’s various crane types. We’ll then break down which crane systems require specific building design work and which can be installed without any special modifications or designs.

Table of Contents

Bridge Cranes

3-Top-Runnning-Double-Girder-1024x768

If you’re asked to picture an industrial crane inside a warehouse or manufacturing facility, the crane you’re likely picturing is a bridge crane. American Equipment has a variety of bridge cranes available that can lift as much as 300 tons and span as far as 200 feet. In almost all cases, these cranes do require special building design elements. However, if you work with American Equipment’s team to decide what crane suits your needs, the team here at Great Western is happy to work with their team to design your building to support the crane.

Below, you will find a quick look at the specs and information associated with the different types of bridge cranes available from American Equipment.

American Equipment Patented Track Cranes

  • 3 to 15-ton capacity
  • Span up to 100 feet (with multiple runways)
  • Speeds up to 250 FPM

Double-Girder Top Running Bridge Crane – Up to 300 Tons

  • CMAA Class A through F
  • Up to 300-ton capacity
  • Spans to 200 ft
  • Speeds to 400 FPM (Bridge) and 200 FPM (Trolley) (Clarification between the two)
  • Hoist Speeds to 50 FPM

Double-Girder Under-Running Bridge Crane – Up to 35 Tons

  • CMAA Class A through D
  • Up to 35-ton capacity
  • Spans to 80 feet
  • Travel speed to 150 FPM
  • Hoist Speeds to 40 FPM
  • Hand-pushed, hand-geared available
  • Can be run under a top-running system to make efficient use of the same girders

Single-Girder Top Running Bridge Crane – Up to 20 Tons

  • CMAA Class A thru D
  • Available in capacities of up to 20 tons
  • Spans to 90 ft
  • Travel speeds to 150
  • FPM Hoist speeds to 40
  • FPM Controls: single, two, three, or VFD
  • Hand-pushed, hand-geared, and motorized options are available
  • Hand propelled typically limited to 5-ton, 30’ span, and 20’ height

Single-Girder Under-Running Bridge Crane – Up to 15 Tons

  • CMAA Class A through Class D
  • Capacities to 15-ton
  • Spans to 150 ft with multiple runways
  • Travel speeds to 150 FPM
  • Hoist speeds to 40 FPM
  • Controls: single, two, three, or VFD
  • Hand-pushed, hand-geared, and motorized options are available
  • Hand propelled typically limited to 5 ton, 30 ft span & 20 ft height

Workstation Bridge Crane 

The free-standing Workstation Bridge Crane is the exception to needing a building designed to support them. These cranes use their own structure to support the bridge and trolley. However, ceiling-mounted workstation bridge cranes do still require accommodation during building design.

  • Ease of movement of the bridge and trolley for load placement
  • Easy to install
  • Increases productivity in the work area
  • Modular design – can easily be added to or moved to a different location
  • Lifting capacities from 250 to 4,000 lbs
  • Nested trolley for more headroom
  • Monorails and transfer sections for versatility across multiple workstations

It’s worth noting that, in some cases, American Equipment can retrofit your building with larger bridge cranes if your structure has the available space to support installing new supports and girders for the crane itself. The best way to confirm your building’s capability with a bridge crane install is to directly contact and work with their expert team.

Jib Cranes

In many cases, a jib crane can quickly be installed in virtually any building that has the space for it, as freestanding units do not require any modifications to your building or special design work to support them so long as the concrete floor is capable of withstanding the load. Wall and ceiling mounted jib cranes do require consideration during building design. Additionally, there are a handful of different varieties of jib cranes with varying uses, capacities, and spans.

Jib cranes are extremely effective for workstations and confined areas. They are reliable and have available safety features to ensure your load stays safely suspended during power losses and that your crane does not exceed pre-set limitations. Below are the various types of jib cranes available from American Equipment. 

Workstation Jib Crane

  • Save space with floor or wall mounting
  • Ideal for circular work area
  • Lifting capacity of up to 1,000 pounds
  • Spans up to 16 feet

Articulating Jib Crane

  • Ideal when loads need to be positioned around overhead obstructions or through doorways
  • Capacity up to 2,000 pounds
  • Up to 16 feet high
  • Optional 360-degree rotation
  • Compatible with electric, air, or vacuum lifting devices

Free-Standing Jib Crane

  • Ideal for mounting beneath bridge cranes or in open floor space
  • Can serve multiple workstations 
  • 0.25 to 5-ton lifting capacity
  • 8 to 20 feet in span 
  • Top or bottom entry provides 360-degree rotation
  • Power rotation available

Mast-Type Jib Crane

  • Reduce forces on supporting structures
  • Floor supported, top stabilized, so no special foundation is required
  • Limiters halt motion once safety maximums are met

Wall Cantilever Jib Crane

  • Use I-Beam Boom Assembly for heavy loads and longer spans
  • Spans up to 20 feet 
  • 0.25 to 5-ton capacity
  • Ideal for outdoor use (loading docks) or open areas serving multiple workstations

Wall Bracket Jib Crane

  • Beam Boom Assembly for heavy loads and even longer spans
  • Spans up to 30 feet 
  • 0.25 to 5-ton capacity
  • Great for spaces where headroom is limited

Gantry Cranes

Outdoor Gantry Crane by American Equipment

Gantry cranes are a phenomenal solution for many users. They are available in a vast array of sizes and load capacities. In addition, they can be affixed with a single leg mounted on the floor and the other on an elevated platform, with both legs mounted to the floor, or they can even be mounted on wheels for free movement throughout your space. They can be used both indoors and outdoors and offer overhead movement like a bridge crane without building modifications or design support. 

  • Ideal in steel warehouses, manufacturing plants, fabrication plants, warehouse operations, and plant maintenance
  • Aluminum or steel available
  • Fixed height and span/adjustable height
  • Adjustable legs and beams
  • “V” groove wheels
  • Wheels for AISC crane rail
  • Steel or rubber/polyurethane wheels
  • Wheels for square bar
  • Manual or motorized operation
  • VFD controls for motorized gantry cranes
  • Motorized ranges up to 150 FPM
  • Combination of AISC crane rail and large diameter steel or polyurethane
  • Available in virtually any span, lifting capacity, height, and hook height
 

Hoists

Wire Rope Hoist

Your crane is only as useful as the hoist that is attached to it. That’s why American Equipment offers phenomenally capable and dependable hoist solutions to help you get the job done right. They offer both overhead chain hoists and wire rope hoists. Here is a quick breakdown of each type of hoist and its benefits. 

Overhead Chain Hoists

  • Electric, air, hand-chain, and lever-chain operation available
  • Up to 100-ton capacity (air or electric), 80-ton capacity (hand chain), 10-ton capacity (lever chain)
  • Spark Resistant and Explosion Proof (ideal in manufacturing facilities with substantial welding, cutting, etc.) 
  • Low headroom trolley hoists, army-type, and swivel truck trolley hoists available

Wire Rope Hoists

  • Fast lifting speeds (up to 50 FPM)
  • Can be customized for spark and explosion-proofing 
  • Low headroom option available
  • Double hook option available
  • Available with mechanical load brakes 
  • Single-speed, two-speed, and three-speed hoists available

Automated Crane Systems

American Equipment provides crane automation systems that incorporate a variety of advanced motion control products to streamline your material handling process. 

They can be used on virtually all cranes, including:

  • Jib crane
  • Bridge crane
  • Gantry crane
  • Monorail crane
  • Automated storage and retrieval (ASRS) crane
  • Stacker crane
 

Automated cranes improve operator and equipment safety, enhance the flow of your process, provide advanced analytics and reporting, and can reduce downtime and errors overall.

Get the Right Crane for Your Building and Your Uses

Overall, we’re more than thrilled to recommend American Equipment to our customers. After all, we want every customer to receive high-quality products when they purchase a building from us, and American Equipment produces world-class equipment that we’re proud to say we use in our manufacturing facility every single day. 

If you’re ready to get the ball rolling on your crane, contact our friends at American Equipment to get what you need. They have dozens of facilities nationwide to ensure you get exactly what you need in a timely manner. Furthermore, if you’re ready to get the building of your dreams to support that crane, contact us today or head over to our 3D Building Designer to get the basics done and submitted. From there, our team will work with you to ensure your building is designed to perfectly support your crane, your business, and your uses.

Photos: American Equipment

Your Quote is on it’s way!

You should receive your estimated quote by email shortly. Please keep in mind that this is just an estimate and does not include snow loads, wind loads, county specific code requirements, delivery or design specific engineering calculations related to the structural soundness of the building.

Text Messaging

Would you like a response via text message? Opting into SMS indicates you agree to receive SMS messages regarding your request from Great Western Buildings. Message and data rates may apply. Message frequency may vary. To end messaging from us, you may always reply with STOP. You may also reply with HELP for more information.
Text Message Opt In(Required)
Hidden
Hidden
Hidden
Hidden