Types of lifting equipment

Lifting equipment raises, moves and positions loads and people on construction sites, in industry and in logistics. This section of the HeavyQuip Construction Equipment Encyclopedia explains how each machine works, its main types and capacities, what it is used for, the leading manufacturers and the key safety points. New entries and updates are added regularly.

Cranes · Material Handling · Access Equipment · Hoists & Winches

Cranes

Machines that lift heavy loads with a hook and move them horizontally.

Tower Cranes

Fixed cranes with a vertical mast and a horizontal jib, the standard lifting machine for building construction.

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Mobile Cranes

Wheeled cranes with telescopic booms that drive to site and set up quickly, from compact city cranes to large all-terrain models.

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Crawler Cranes

Tracked cranes, usually with lattice booms, for the heaviest and longest lifts on energy and infrastructure projects.

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Loader Cranes

Knuckle-boom cranes mounted on trucks, used to deliver and install materials.

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Mini & Spider Cranes

Compact cranes with fold-out legs that pass through doorways and work indoors or on confined sites.

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Overhead & Gantry Cranes

Cranes running on rails or beams, used in factories, precast yards and ports.

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Self-Erecting Tower Cranes

Tower cranes that unfold themselves from a transport position, for houses and small building sites.

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Luffing-Jib Tower Cranes

Tower cranes whose jib raises and lowers, used on crowded city sites where space to swing is limited.

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Pick-and-Carry Cranes

Cranes that lift a load and drive with it, including articulated and carry-deck models.

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Heavy Lift Systems

Strand jacks, hydraulic gantries and skidding systems for lifting and moving very heavy structures.

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Material Handling

Machines that pick up, carry and place loads on forks or attachments.

Telehandlers

Telescopic handlers that lift and place loads forwards and upwards, on rough ground and over obstacles.

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Forklifts

Industrial trucks that lift and move palletised loads in warehouses, factories and yards.

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Rough-Terrain Forklifts

Forklifts with large tyres and four-wheel drive for building sites, timber yards and farms.

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Reach Stackers & Container Handlers

Heavy handlers that lift and stack shipping containers in ports, terminals and depots.

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Straddle Carriers

Tall vehicles that drive over a container, lift it and carry it around a terminal.

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Self-Propelled Modular Transporters

Multi-axle platforms that can be combined to move bridges, modules and plant weighing thousands of tonnes.

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Access Equipment

Machines that take people and tools safely to height.

Aerial Work Platforms

Boom lifts, scissor lifts and vertical mast lifts that take workers and tools to height in place of ladders and scaffolding.

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Truck-Mounted Platforms

Aerial platforms mounted on trucks or vans, used for utilities, lighting, signage and maintenance.

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Mast Climbing Work Platforms

Platforms that climb a mast tied to the building, used for facade and cladding work.

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Spider Lifts

Compact tracked boom lifts with outriggers that pass through doorways and set up on uneven or delicate ground.

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Vacuum Lifters & Glazing Robots

Vacuum devices and compact robots that lift and place glass panels and other smooth, heavy elements.

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Hoists & Winches

Equipment that lifts or pulls loads with a rope, chain or rack.

Construction Hoists

Construction Hoists

Rack-and-pinion lifts that carry workers and materials up the outside of buildings under construction.

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Hoists & Winches

Chain, wire rope and air hoists and winches for lifting and pulling loads.

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Looking for excavators, loaders or road machines? See Types of Construction Equipment Machines.