TCS installs advanced suspension crane system in India

Belgian crane and steelwork specialist TCS (Timmers Cranes & Steelworks), completed installation of a large-scale suspension crane system at Safran Aircraft Engines’ maintenance facility in Hyderabad, India; the French aerospace company’s first crane project outside Europe.

The system, built to support maintenance of CFM International’s LEAP turbofan engines, spans three operational zones: a backshop, an assembly/disassembly area and a preparation room. The assembly/disassembly zone alone encompasses 2.5 kilometres of runway beams, 15 suspension cranes rated at six tonnes, 17 hoists and 10 fixed transfers.

The defining technical feature is a traversing hoist system in which hoists move between cranes via lockable couplings, allowing loads to be positioned anywhere in the hall without floor obstructions. 

All equipment was fully assembled and load-tested at TCS’s facility in Belgium before shipment in purpose-designed containers from Antwerp to Mumbai and then Hyderabad. Engineering, production and on-site supervision were handled by TCS, with a local subcontractor managing the installation under TCS oversight.

Engineering and production ran from May 2024 to July 2025, with on-site installation completed in early 2026.