Knowing no limits: hydraulic gantries

As more companies understand the abilities of hydraulic gantries and the business development opportunities they offer, interest in these machines is growing. Two of the foremost industry experts in the design and production of hydraulic gantries spoke to ACT about the future of this important rigging tool. Kevin Johnston is president of J&R Engineering, and Ben Forster is vice president of Riggers Manufacturing and Lift Systems.

“As companies realize the capabilities, mobility and safety features that modern gantries offer, interest has surged,” Johnston said. “Heavy lift companies are looking for equipment that not only enhances safety but also offers operational flexibility and almost unlimited capacity. The very nature of gantries is that they are very powerful, have a compact design for tight spaces and can be set up in many different arrangements.”

One of the original founders of the hydraulic gantry is Roger Johnston, who spun off and started J&R Engineering. Today, J&R Engineering is at the forefront of the evolution of gantry products.

J&R Engineering’s gantry features – such as the swivel header plate, integral self-propel drives and double acting cylinders – are appealing because they ensure precision and vertical strength during complex lifting tasks, Johnston said.

“Gantries continue to become more commonplace and are an essential tool for most rigging companies today,” said Forster. “As people move around the industry between companies, or even outside the industry, they take their knowledge and experience with them, which leads to new user opportunities. Additionally, the internet has opened new opportunities, and it is still common when speaking with a new prospect outside of the rigging industry to hear them say that they never knew gantries existed until they found them on the web.”

Critical features

What are the most critical features that rigging companies look for when adding gantries to their equipment fleets?

Johnston said safety and strength are top priorities.

“Companies look for reliability and ease of operation,” Johnston said. “Recently electronic systems are being used to synchronize the movements of lifting, lowering and driving the gantry. Our system is the Lift Equalizer, which has all these movements shown on the control module and remote control.”

With any equipment acquisition, the answer is “return on investment,” Forster explained.

“Most users are looking to increase market share, or customer retention, by increasing their capabilities, when they look at adding gantries to their fleets,” he said. “The features are different for everyone based on the work that they are performing. Typically, it boils down to top stage capacity and maximum height, but there are many other factors. Retracted height, mobilization costs, how the unit is powered, control systems, propulsion systems and versatility, all play an important role in the decision-making process.”

Forster added that newer users sometimes take the approach that they want one model to do all jobs.

“We help them analyze the type of work they are doing and often discover a smaller model may catch 90 to 95 percent of their prospective work, and that a larger unit would only be required on occasion,” he explained. “Knowing that they can rent on those occasions helps build their confidence in their purchase of a lesser capacity unit that is going to be less expensive to mobilize, require smaller support equipment and in the end, keep them competitive in the bidding process.”

We asked Johnston to explain the J&R LIFT-N-LOCK system and its importance.

“The LIFT-N-LOCK system is a game-changer in terms of safety,” he said. “This is a secondary load holding system that locks the booms if the integral lock valves do not hold oil in the lift cylinder. It automatically engages concentric elliptical cams onto the boom structure if there’s a drop in hydraulic pressure, ensuring the load remains securely suspended. This system prevents inadvertent lowering or dropping of loads, significantly reducing the risk of accidents. It’s a feature that truly sets us apart because the nuclear industry classifies it as single failure proof for handling spent fuel casks.”

Evolving tool

Johnston said that J&R Engineering’s products continue to evolve.

“J&R Engineering started as a small consulting firm in 1978, and over the years, we’ve grown into a leader in hydraulic boom gantry design and manufacturing,” he said. “In 1988, Roger Johnston incorporated J&R into our current business model of suppling lifting solutions for our customers. Our clientele is now a diverse mix, probably fifty-fifty, between heavy lift companies and the nuclear industry. Most of our business comes through word-of-mouth, highlighting the tight-knit nature of our industry.”

He said that fieldwork, support and certification are very important to J&R’s customers as well.

“Our commitment to innovation and quality will continue to drive us forward in the areas of self-contained legs powered by batteries and higher capacity gantries,” he said. “The SC&RA and the heavy lift industry are very rewarding, because of the satisfaction of seeing projects through concept design to completion is unparalleled. We plan to stay at the top of the cutting edge, providing solutions that meet the evolving needs of our clients.”

Companies have gotten very creative using gantries. Examples are jobs in which gantries are stacked on top of each other or where they are used on top of SPMT systems. Why does this type of rigging equipment lend itself to so much creativity?

“Hydraulic jacks have been around since the 1800s, so they are nothing new and there are countless applications for jacks in all shapes and sizes,” said Forster. “I think the creativity with gantries is 100 percent user driven, and naturally stems from the intelligence and talent that exists in our industry for solving complex problems.”

Custom applications

Forster said it is the best part of his job when a customer calls him up for an opinion on a new application for their gantry.

Riggers Manufacturing produces the EZ Lifter product line, and Lift Systems produces two gantry product lines both with bare cylinder and boom-style gantry systems, in addition to custom design and build gantry products.

“They’ll walk through the process of what they are thinking and often times, something similar has been done and the basic concept is already proven,” he said.

Gantries working in tandem with SPMTs are now commonplace, Forster explained. Fagioli proved it first (to my knowledge) when they used Riggers EZ Lifters on a barge for setting a walk bridge in Venice, Italy,” he said. “Gantries on a barge or on an SPMT – it is still gantries on a mobile platform. The secret to it is the engineered lift planning and the execution of the work within the operational capabilities of the machine design.”

Gantry history

Gantries have been an essential tool in the lifting and rigging industry for many decades, according to Kevin Johnston, president of J&R Engineering.

“Initially, they were basic structures used to lift heavy loads vertically,” he said. “In the late 1960s, they were designed and built by rigging companies for lifting projects they encountered.”

Then in 1978, three men formed Riggers Manufacturing, producing the first commercially available hydraulic telescopic gantries. Roger Johnston, Gary Lorenz and Ed Engler eventually split up to form three manufacturing companies.

Johnston spun off and started J&R Engineering, first as a consulting company and then as a producer of gantries.

The history of the gantry as it relates to today’s Riggers Manufacturing and Lift Systems involved the same three men, explained Ben Forster, vice president of Lift Systems and Riggers Manufacturing.

“Both companies were founded with gantries as their core product offerings,” said Forster. “Gary Lorenz split off in 1983 and founded Lift Systems. Our family became the third owner of Riggers Manufacturing when Rigging Gear Sales (RGS) and Lift Systems purchased it as a joint venture in 2002.”

Three years later, Lift Systems was acquired by RGS and a partner group. Riggers continues to offer the EZLifter product line of gantries, and Lift Systems maintains two standard gantry product lines with both bare cylinder and boom style gantry systems in addition to the custom design and build side of the business.

The Belding Gantry was among the first machines used to lift heavy loads vertically.

Forster said gantries have evolved substantially. They are now fairly mature in their standard features and accessory offerings, he said.

“The original Hartley Belding gantries had multiple cylinders, wheels and external power units,” he said. “Some of the early lessons learned from the ‘home-built’ systems were incorporated into the first commercial offerings.”

Since then, the product lines range from mini systems to multi-leg arrangements capable of lifting thousands of tons, he said.

“Booms, propulsion systems, computer control systems, side shifts, rotators and various beam designs and attachments are just a few steps along the way,” Forster said. “Seismic stability, which requires damping and other stabilizing features, have been a recent addition to the design requirements for some applications. Extreme precision control and repeatability has been a need in the custom design and build sector.”

A few years ago, Walbridge granted Lift Systems the opportunity to purchase the original Belding gantries. Forster said they jumped at the chance.

“They are the founding history of our businesses, and serve as a reminder that great idea can become a whole sector of an industry,” he said. “I’m still in awe when I see them in the corner of the yard, that our whole company group exists as the result of one job, and the visionary man who solved a problem.”