MOBILIFT straddle carriers for industry and civil construction
Rubber-tyred straddle carriers from 10 to over 200 t, designed around the load, the ground and the yard: precast beams and bridge segments, steel, heavy industrial components, containers. Diesel-hydrostatic, hybrid or fully electric. Designed and built in Italy, following the Paolo De Nicola approach.
Lift, carry and place the load with one machine
A straddle carrier — also called a mobile gantry crane or rubber-tyred gantry — rides over the load on four or more wheel groups, lifts it with its own hoists and carries it across the yard. No rails, no foundations, no second machine to load the trailer. MOBILIFT is the name of the straddle carriers designed by our team since the Paolo De Nicola years: every one is built for a specific load family, ground and duty cycle.
One machine, three jobs
It lifts from the production line, travels to the stock yard and loads the trailer. Where a yard would need an overhead crane, a forklift and a mobile crane, one MOBILIFT does the work.
Where rails cannot go
On tyres the machine follows the layout of the site, not the other way round: it changes route, works on unpaved ground and moves to the next site when the job is finished.
Built around the load
Span, lifting height, spreader and steering are chosen for the load you actually handle — a 40 m precast beam, a box segment, a coil, a transformer — not taken from a standard list.
Straddle carriers for industry
Inside and around the plant: from the end of the production line to storage and to the trailer, often on a machine that also takes part in assembly.
- Heavy industrial components. Transformers, machine frames and large welded structures, with twin spreader beams synchronised in height and width — up to 200 t under spreaders on the MOBILIFT 215 t.
- Steel. Hot billets at 600 °C, plates with magnets, coils and long products, on hydraulic suspensions for poor ground and two-shift duty.
- Energy and wind. Wind-tower components and heavy energy equipment, moved with dedicated spreaders up to 75 t and mobile lifting points.
- Containers and logistics. ISO 20/40 ft containers, spreaders and unit loads in intermodal yards.
- Mining and remote sites. Simple, robust machines with protected electrical systems for severe environments, far from any service network.
Photos: archive, machines built before Eden Tech by companies where members of our team worked.
Straddle carriers for civil construction and precast yards
The machine that feeds a bridge or viaduct site: from the casting bed to the stock yard, to the low loader or directly to the launching gantry.
- Precast beams and girders. Long, slender loads handled with spreaders and synchronised hoists, so the beam is never twisted.
- Box segments and bridge elements. Segments for span-by-span and cantilever bridges, with lifting devices shaped on the segment geometry.
- Piers, columns, pipes and blocks. Precast piers and columns, large concrete pipes, breakwater blocks for ports.
- Tunnel segments. Segment handling in the yard and, with compact machines, inside the tunnel itself.
- Part of the whole bridge site. Our team has also designed launching gantries and tyre trolleys up to 900 t, so the straddle carrier is planned together with the rest of the erection system — see Bridge launching.
Photos: archive, machines built before Eden Tech by companies where members of our team worked.
What we choose for each machine
There is no standard MOBILIFT. These are the main choices we make together with the customer at the start of every project.
Lifting devices
Single or twin spreader beams, telescopic or rotating spreaders, mobile lifting points, magnets, or up to six independent hooks — with electronic synchronism of the winches when the load demands it.
Drive
Diesel-hydrostatic, hybrid electro-hydraulic, or fully electric with on-board batteries or cable supply. Our team developed an all-electric series with up to 20% energy saving compared with a hydraulic machine.
Steering
Advanced steering modes up to 90° side travel, with electronic control on hydraulic cylinders: the machine turns in the space the yard actually has.
Ground and height
Hydraulic suspensions for poor ground, all-terrain versions, frames with variable height, 8 or 16 wheels to keep the ground pressure within the limits of the site.
Operator and controls
Rotating cabin, elevated cabin or radio remote control; electronic control of hoisting and steering, remote assistance and safety functions built into the control system.
Spares and service
We support our machines and the Paolo De Nicola MOBILIFT fleet already in service, including electric repowering. See Spares & service.
Recent MOBILIFT straddle carriers
Machines designed and built by Eden Tech Srl. The full technical data are on the project pages.
MOBILIFT 215 t — heavy industrial handling
Twin spreader beams controlled in height and width, four synchronised winches, 200 t under spreaders. In assembly at the customer’s site.
Project and technical data →
Two MOBILIFT 30 t — hot billets in a steel mill
Loads at 600 °C at up to 20 km/h on poor ground, two shifts a day, six days a week, on hydraulic suspensions.
Project and technical data →
MOBILIFT 16 t — segment positioning in a road tunnel
Self-adapting wheel supports for curved and flat tunnel sections; the load travels on the overhang and is rotated into position.
Project and technical data →
MOBILIFT 63 t — service operations in a remote area
A simple, reliable machine for a severe environment, with a new concept of protection for the electrical board. Confidential project: archive photo of an earlier MOBILIFT 63 t built by Eden Technology Srl.
Project and technical data →Decades of MOBILIFT straddle carriers
Before Eden Tech, members of our team designed and built straddle carriers at Paolo De Nicola S.p.A. and at Eden Technology Srl. The list below is a selection from the 2007 Paolo De Nicola catalogue alone. Machine, load and country only: no customer names.
Machines built by Paolo De Nicola S.p.A. and Eden Technology Srl, on which members of today’s Eden Tech team worked. They are listed as the professional experience of our people, not as Eden Tech supplies.
Straddle carriers: frequent questions
What is the difference between a straddle carrier and a gantry crane?
A gantry crane on rails works along a fixed track. A straddle carrier (MOBILIFT) runs on rubber tyres: it lifts the load and carries it anywhere in the yard, then loads it onto a trailer. It needs no rails and no foundations, and it can be moved to another site.
What capacity can a MOBILIFT have?
Our team has worked on straddle carriers from 10 t to over 200 t, and on mobile gantry cranes up to 900 t. The capacity is defined together with span, lifting height and lifting device, around the heaviest load you need to handle.
Diesel, hybrid or electric?
It depends on the site. Diesel-hydrostatic machines are independent and robust; hybrid and fully electric machines cut consumption, noise and emissions and can work indoors. The drive can also be upgraded later: we repower existing machines to electric.
Can a straddle carrier work on unpaved ground?
Yes, if it is designed for it: hydraulic suspensions, large tyres, more wheels to reduce ground pressure and all-terrain versions. We check the ground bearing capacity of your site at the start of the project.
Do you service existing Paolo De Nicola MOBILIFT machines?
Yes. PAOLO DE NICOLA® is a registered trade mark of Eden Tech Srl, and our team supplies spares, inspections, upgrades and electric repowering for MOBILIFT machines in service. See Spares & service.
Tell us the load you need to move.
Weight, dimensions, ground and route: we will tell you which MOBILIFT can do it — and roughly what it takes.