European Single Girder Gantry Crane
A gantry crane carries its own runway, so every kilogram of the machine has to be paid for twice: once to buy it and again to build the rail, the sleepers and the foundation that hold it up. A European single girder gantry is roughly 20–30% lighter than a conventional MG/MH machine of the same capacity and span, and that difference lands directly in your civil works — a lighter rail section, a smaller foundation, and in soft ground a far cheaper base.
- Capacity1–20 t (32 t on request)
- Span / rail gauge12–30 m
- Lifting height6–12 m
- Duty classA5 typical (FEM 2m / ISO M5)
- HoistLow-headroom compact hoist, VFD hoisting and travel
- StructureSingle box girder on two legs; rail mounted or on a concrete plinth
Why a lighter gantry saves more than it looks like
The visible saving is the steel in the girder and the legs. The bigger saving is underground. A gantry crane's weight is carried by its own rail, and the rail sits on sleepers, concrete beams or a continuous foundation that you pay for. Reducing the crane's dead weight by 20–30% reduces the rail section, the sleeper size and the foundation width — on soft or filled ground, that is often the difference between an affordable yard crane and a project that never happens.
The compact hoist and lighter girder also mean lower wheel loads and smaller end carriages, so the rail fixing details get simpler and the whole machine is easier to move if the yard layout changes.
What outdoor service changes about the machine
A crane in the open air is a different specification exercise from one indoors, and this is where cheap quotations quietly go wrong. Wind: the crane must be anchored when parked, so we supply rail clamps as standard and add an anemometer with a wind-speed interlock on exposed sites. Water and dust: IP55 motors and panels, sealed bearings, drainage in the girder and a rain cover over the hoist. Corrosion: for humid and coastal yards (most of Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines) we specify hot-dip galvanizing or a heavy epoxy system with a stated dry film thickness, not workshop paint.
Foundations and alignment are your civil contractor's scope, but we give you the wheel loads, the rail size and the track alignment tolerances in writing so they can price it properly.
Options worth paying for
VFD hoisting and travel as standard; rail clamps and anemometer interlock for exposed yards; hot-dip galvanizing or heavy epoxy; conductor busbar or cable reel for the power feed instead of festoon cable on long travel; a grab, magnet or C-hook instead of a hook where the material demands it; a rain cover and a hoist heating element for cold sites.
Usually unnecessary: a cabin on a 5 t yard crane, and travel speeds above 30 m·min⁻¹ on a short yard where the crane spends its time lifting rather than travelling.
Testing and documents before dispatch
We are a supplier, not the factory: your crane is built by one of our long-term partner factories in Changyuan, and we tell you which one. We watch the machine being built and tested rather than forwarding a catalogue.
- Girder camber, leg geometry and weld appearance checked against the approved drawing
- No-load and rated-load test run on the factory track, with limiters and brakes demonstrated
- Overload limiter set and recorded; rail clamps and wind securing checked
- Photographs and video of the test and the loading sent before the container is sealed
- Documents: wheel loads, rail size and alignment tolerances, packing list, product certificate, test report, O&M manual, assembly drawings
Specification range
| Capacity | 1 t, 2 t, 3 t, 5 t, 10 t, 16 t, 20 t (32 t on request) |
|---|---|
| Span / rail gauge | 12 m – 30 m |
| Lifting height | 6 m – 12 m (higher on request) |
| Duty classification | A5 typical (FEM 2m, ISO M5) |
| Hoist | Low-headroom compact wire rope hoist, VFD hoisting and travel |
| Travel speeds | Bridge 20–40 m·min⁻¹, trolley 15–30 m·min⁻¹, hoist 0.5–8 m·min⁻¹ with VFD |
| Structure weight | 20–30% lighter than a conventional MG/MH gantry at the same capacity and span |
| Rail and foundation | Lighter rail section and smaller foundation than a conventional gantry — wheel loads supplied for your civil designer |
| Wind securing | Rail clamps standard; anemometer with wind-speed interlock optional |
| Outdoor protection | IP55 motors and panels, sealed bearings, girder drainage, rain cover over the hoist |
| Corrosion system | Hot-dip galvanizing or heavy epoxy with stated dry film thickness for coastal yards |
| Power supply | 380 V / 50 Hz standard; other voltages and 60 Hz on request |
| Control | Pendant standard; radio remote optional |
The table shows the range we normally supply. Your offer states the exact capacity, span, lifting height, duty class and voltage for your site — and where a figure in this table differs from the offer, the offer prevails. Send us your requirement and we will confirm each line in writing before you order.
European Single Girder Gantry Crane: questions we are asked
Gantry or overhead crane — which do I need?
A gantry crane carries its own runway, so it works outdoors, on a yard with no building, or where the building cannot take a crane. An overhead crane is cheaper for the same capacity and span because your building carries the load. If you have a suitable building, an overhead crane is almost always the better value; if the lifting has to happen outside, or the building is temporary or absent, it is a gantry. Send a plan of the area and we will tell you which one is cheaper for your case.
Who supplies the rail and the foundation?
Your civil contractor builds them, and we give the data they need: wheel loads at each corner, recommended rail section, sleeper or beam spacing, and the track alignment tolerance. Getting this wrong is the most expensive mistake in a gantry project, so we put it in writing before you order rather than leaving it to a phone call after delivery.
Can the crane be moved to another yard later?
Yes — a rail-mounted gantry can be dismantled, moved and re-erected, and the lighter European structure makes that easier. What cannot be moved is the foundation, so if you expect the layout to change, tell us: we can design the legs and the rail fixing for repeated re-erection rather than a permanent installation.
How does it deal with wind and rain?
Rail clamps are standard for parking; on exposed sites we add an anemometer that stops the crane above a set wind speed, and state the design wind pressure in the offer for your region. For rain and dust: IP55 motors and panels, sealed bearings, drainage in the girder sections, and a cover over the hoist. For coastal yards the paint system matters more than anything else and we specify it explicitly.
How is it shipped and erected?
Small gantries up to about 20 t travel as girders plus legs; larger ones are split into transport sections that bolt or weld together on site. We supply the assembly drawings, the bolting or welding method, and the lifting points for your erector — and where the site has no competent crew we can send a supervisor. Tell us at quotation stage what crane you have on site, because it decides how heavy each piece can be.
Related products
Single Girder Overhead Crane
Workshops, warehouses, assembly and maintenance bays. Light structure, low wheel load, quick to install.
1–20 t · span to 30 mEuropean Single Girder Overhead Crane
Compact low-headroom hoist, 20–30% lower wheel loads and VFD as standard — the crane to specify when the building cannot take a heavier machine.
1–20 t · low headroomDouble Girder Overhead Crane
Heavy duty and long spans: steel fabrication, precast yards, smelters, heavy machining shops.
5–500 t · custom spanAsk about the european single girder gantry crane
Send capacity, span and lifting height and we will reply with a specification and a price within 24 hours.
Supplier, not factory — and we say which factory
We quote from 4–5 long-term partner factories in Changyuan, Henan. You will know which one is building your crane, our inspectors test it before shipment, and the drawings, test report and manuals travel with the machine. More about how we work →