Free-standing pillar jib cranes
Floor-mounted steel pillars with 180° or 360° slewing. Ideal where there is no suitable wall or overhead structure to mount against. Foundations sized to the duty and footprint.
UK manufactured
Jib cranes: UK-manufactured, bespoke or standard.
Pillar-mounted, wall-mounted, column-mounted and articulated jib cranes, engineered in the UK for capacities from 60 kg to 10 tonnes, with manual or powered slewing.
Jib cranes are the workhorse lifting device of the engineering workshop — the piece of equipment that sits over a workstation, a bogie bay, a press, or a machining centre and handles everything from a 60 kg sub-assembly to a 10 tonne fabrication. Somers Handling designs and manufactures jib cranes in the UK to BS EN 13001, supplying steel mills, rail depots, aerospace fabrication halls, civil nuclear facilities, and construction-industry workshops up and down the country.
Where jib cranes are used
Wherever a repetitive lifting task needs to happen at a fixed point — a welding bay, a paint booth entry, a machine-tool loading station, an assembly jig, a test rig — a jib crane is usually the most economical and most ergonomic choice. The operator works within a swept quadrant or a full circle rather than having to walk the load across a bay. For high-cycle workstations that translates directly into shorter cycle times, fewer manual handling risks, and measurably lower accident rates compared with slings and forklifts.
Typical deployments we see at Somers:
- Steel mills and foundries. Jibs over cooling beds, sample-cutting stations and charge bays — usually higher-capacity units with corrosion-grade finishes.
- Rail depots. Articulated jibs over bogie overhaul bays, and pillar jibs handling traction motor assemblies, brake gear and wheelsets.
- Aerospace fabrication. Low-headroom and articulated variants around tooling cells and NDT stations where the hook has to reach into fixtures.
- Nuclear decommissioning and new-build. Bespoke jibs with traceable material certification and documented weld procedures, often in radiation-shielded cells.
- Construction yards and precast plants. Pillar-mounted and free-standing jibs for rebar cages, segment moulds and loadout bays.
Engineering to BS EN 13001
BS EN 13001 is the harmonised standard for bridge and gantry cranes, and the framework we design jib cranes against for the UK and European market. The structural calculation covers the hoist motion duty, slewing motion duty, wind load (where relevant), and the foundation or host-structure reactions. For cast-in or bolted base plates we size the anchor group and issue a foundation drawing with the required concrete grade and reinforcement detail. For wall- and column-mounted variants we supply the host-structure reaction loads so the customer’s civil or structural engineer can confirm adequacy.
Every Somers jib is proof-load tested in-house at 125% of SWL before shipping, under LOLER 1998, and supplied with a thorough examination certificate at commissioning. Ongoing statutory inspection — 6-monthly for man-riding or accessory-rated use, 12-monthly for goods-only — is available as a service.
Getting to a specification
The quickest way to a usable jib-crane specification is a short conversation about what you’re actually lifting. Load weight and shape, operating environment, duty cycle, available headroom, and any host-structure constraints are enough for our engineers to scope the right variant and propose an SWL / outreach / slewing combination. From there we can either confirm against a nearest-standard Somers model or produce a bespoke design — both come back with CAD, calculations and a fixed price.
Types and configurations
Jib cranes are supplied in the following common configurations. Bespoke variants are engineered to order.
Wall- and column-mounted jib cranes
Bolt or weld-on jibs that use existing building structure for support. Lower installed cost than free-standing, with up to 180° slewing across a workstation or machine cell.
Articulated jib cranes
Two-section boom with an articulated joint that allows the hook to reach around obstructions, into machine envelopes, or along narrow bays.
Technical capabilities
Standard capabilities below — higher capacities, longer spans and non-standard finishes available on request.
Standards
- BS EN 13001
- LOLER 1998
- CE / UKCA
| Safe working load (SWL) | 60 kg – 10 t Higher capacities on request. |
|---|---|
| Jib outreach | 1 m – 12 m |
| Slewing angle | 180° or 360° Manual push, geared or powered. |
| Height under hook | Engineered to workstation |
| Hoist options | Manual chain block, electric chain, electric wire rope |
| Standards | BS EN 13001, LOLER CE / UKCA marked; supplied with test certification. |
Industries
Where jib cranes are specified.
- SectorSteel
- SectorRail
- SectorAerospace
- SectorNuclear
- SectorConstruction
- SectorWater & utilities
Jib cranes — frequently asked questions
What's the difference between a free-standing and a wall-mounted jib crane?
A free-standing jib has its own steel pillar bolted into a reinforced concrete foundation — so it can be installed almost anywhere and offers up to 360° slewing. A wall-mounted jib uses the building's structure for support, which is cheaper but requires a host wall or column with the right loading capacity. Most workshops use a mix of both depending on what the building can carry.
How do I size a jib crane for my workstation?
Start with the load — including the hoist, chains and any lifting attachment, not just the bare component — plus the longest outreach you'll need. Then factor in duty cycle (how often the crane lifts per hour) and the operating environment. We'll scale up from nearest standard model, or engineer a bespoke variant if none fits. In practice, customers often share a site sketch and we size the jib from there.
Do Somers Handling jib cranes come with LOLER certification?
Yes. Every jib crane is manufactured to BS EN 13001, CE/UKCA marked, and supplied with a declaration of conformity plus a proof-load test certificate from initial commissioning. Ongoing thorough examinations under LOLER 1998 are available as a service — most customers take a 6- or 12-month inspection cycle depending on use.
Can the hoist be retrofitted or upgraded later?
Usually, yes — provided the jib itself was originally specified with a bit of capacity headroom. We can swap a manual chain block for an electric hoist, change from a plain-trolley hoist to a motorised one, or upsize within the boom's rated capacity. If you're planning a capacity change, tell us at the design stage so we can build in the margin.
How long does a jib crane take to manufacture and install?
Standard-spec jibs typically ship within 4–6 weeks of a confirmed order. Bespoke jibs depend on complexity but are normally 8–12 weeks including design, fabrication, proof-load testing and delivery. Installation is usually a one-day visit for wall-mounted units and up to a week for free-standing jibs requiring foundation works.
What should I budget for a jib crane?
Published prices aren't especially useful because cost is driven by SWL, outreach, slewing method, hoist type and installation conditions. A simple 250 kg wall-mounted jib with a manual chain block is low-thousands; a 5 t free-standing powered-slew jib with electric wire-rope hoist is a very different number. Send us the application and we'll quote a genuine figure, not a ballpark.
Need jib cranes engineered to your application?
Send a short description of your load, environment and duty — a Somers engineer will respond within one working day.