Most old cranes hold two answers at once: the structure may have years left in it while another part of the machine has none. The question worth settling first is which part of the crane has actually run out.
ABRA modernises cranes and hoists of any make. The principle is simple: components that have reached the end of their service life are renewed, and the ones that still have life in them stay on the machine. What a given crane actually needs comes out of a condition survey.
More cycles, longer shifts, heavier average loads. A crane sized for the old plan runs above its duty class, and wear starts arriving earlier than the maintenance plan expects.
Direct-on-line travel starts and stops set the load moving. Inverter drives with sway control settle it, which shortens the cycle and takes guesswork out of spotting.
A girder with fatigue life left is an asset. Renewing what has worn and keeping what has not is often a fraction of a new installation.
Condition survey
Modernisation does not start with a quote. It starts with someone measuring the crane: structure and welds, rails and wheels, brakes, rope and drum, the electrical fit, and how the crane is actually used against the duty class it was built for. The first question is whether the remaining design working period supports the duty the crane is being asked to do. That answer decides everything after it.
A survey in the plant reaches only so far. Where the scope goes into the hoist or the mechanisms, the equipment is dismantled and brought to our facility, and the strip-down inspection there shows what is genuinely worn. The final offer follows that inspection, so the price is based on the condition of the parts rather than an estimate made from the floor.
On Explosion-protected equipment every replacement component has to be certified for the zone it works in, and the documentation for the machine changes together with the fit.
The decision
Sometimes the answer is a new crane, and we say so at the survey. That is a shorter conversation than finding out halfway through a project.
| Modernisation usually wins when | A new crane usually wins when |
|---|---|
| The girder and runway structure are sound | The crane no longer meets the capacity or the cycle you need |
| Lead time matters more than specification | The configuration has to change (underhung to top-running, different span) |
| The capital budget is limited | Fatigue or misalignment has compromised the structure |
| The increase in demand is moderate | The plant layout is changing around the crane |
| The crane is compliant and needs reliability rather than redesign | Automation or a new plant layout calls for a new design |
Project process
Five steps, from the first look at the crane to the load test that puts it back into production:
On site, on the crane. Structure, mechanisms, electrics, and how the machine is actually used.
Where the scope calls for it, the equipment comes off the runway and travels to us. The final offer follows what the strip-down shows.
Machining, welding, electrical build and assembly, under the same controls as a new build.
Planned around a shutdown, so the crane is off the runway for the shortest stretch the scope allows.
The crane is commissioned and load tested before it goes back into production, and handed over with documentation for what changed.
After-sales
FAQ
Yes. Modernisation, spare parts, service and Crane Tracking retrofit are all brand independent. What matters is what the survey finds: the structure, the remaining design working period, and whether the existing runway and clearances support the change you want.
The condition survey decides it, and the structure is usually the deciding factor. If the girder and runway are sound and the configuration still fits the plant, renewing the worn components is a real option. If capacity, configuration or layout has to change, a new crane is the honest answer and we will say so.
Sometimes. Capacity uprating is possible only where the structural calculation allows it, and that is decided project by project on the survey and the original design data. It is never a straight swap of the hoist, and we will not quote an increase we cannot calculate.
For most scopes, yes. The work is done in our own facility, not on your runway, which is what makes a proper strip-down and a controlled rebuild possible. How long the machine is away depends on the scope, and we plan it around a shutdown where that can be done.
The warranty terms for the renewed scope are defined in the offer, because the scope itself changes from project to project. It is written down before the work starts, together with what is covered and what is not.
Get a scope you can price
Tell us what the crane is, what it does now, and what you need it to do. We will survey it and come back with a scope you can price — including the case for replacing it, if that is the answer.
Keeping a crane in condition → periodic maintenance
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Designed to EN 15011, the EN 13001 series and EN 14492-2, with FEM 9.511 as a complementary reference · CE marked under 2006/42/EC · duty class and standards guide → duty class guide
