WIREDGOV

The world’s first lightweight portable jib crane capable of lifting a tonne in weight is expected to create quite a splash with the water industry when it is launched in the UK next month.

The innovative new system designed, developed and manufactured in-house by Chepstow based Reid Lifting, is specifically designed to meet the rigorous requirements and stringent health and safety regime of the water industry.

The lightweight Porta-Davit is made from aluminum, can be carried and assembled by two people, lifted into embedded sockets on site and ready for use within minutes. It can then be dismantled, cleaned and packed away ready for re-use.

It is designed for water and waste treatment plants where pumps, valves and filters need to be lifted for inspection on a regular basis. Many of the pumps weigh over half a tonne and currently engineers have to rig up large machines or build permanent structures to carry out this work.

Previewed at Pollutec Horizon Paris in December – the key trade exhibition for the environmental sector – the new Porta-Davit created considerable interest as well as some forward orders and the company is now gearing up for production next month.

MD Nick Battersby explained:

“There’s nothing on the market with this lifting capability and offering such safety factors and the feedback from the Paris exhibition was extremely positive and encouraging with orders from one of the Worlds leading Water companies.

“The water industry in particular struggles with increasingly heavy pumps and filters that have to be lifted and the benefits of such a unique system as ours were immediately recognised.

“Every system shipped from our factory is actually load tested to 150% of rated capacity providing our customers with the greatest safety factors in the industry.”

He said support from the Assembly Government that enabled the business to expand and move into larger premises on Newhouse Farm industrial Estate in Chepstow had ensured they had the capacity to carry out more research and development work in house.

Ieuan Wyn Jones, Minister for the Economy and Transport, said the success of Reid Lifting clearly illustrated the importance of investing in research and development to bring new products to the market.

“Innovation is vital for success and its good to see that as a result of this investment Reid Lifting is winning new business, entering new markets and in pole position to maximize this competitive edge during the economic upturn.”

Sales and Marketing Director Phillip Ellis said they have effectively bypassed the worst effects of the recession through investing in R&D and developing new products and markets and winning new export orders in Europe, Middle East and the USA.

“Our focus on International development means we have maintained our revenues over the last 12 months and now have a broader international platform for the future, as well as a recovering UK market.”

A recent large order from their USA & Canada reseller partner Thern Inc of Minnesota, has consolidated Reid’s activities in North America, adding to their recent successes in reseller developments across France, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Norway and the Middle East.

Reid Lifting specialises in the design, development and manufacture of lightweight lifting systems. Its PORTA-GANTRY 5000, capable of lifting 5 tonnes, is another unique market leader and the PORTA-GANTRY range was awarded a Queen’s Award for Enterprise:Innovation.