COMPANY
The Old Tower Cemetery

DATE
Installed September 2020

LOCATION
Alblasserdam, Netherlands

PRODUCT
PORTAGANTRY®

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REID Lifting distributor Boels was approached by the management of The Old Tower Cemetery in Alblasserdam to provide a lifting solution which could be used within the sensitive confines of a graveyard.

The Background

There can be few more delicate lifting challenges than moving coffins and gravestones within a cemetery. However, in the Netherlands, there was a requirement to lift old coffins when the space was no longer needed and move gravestones around to allow new ones to be added.

The Challenge

The management and supervisors at The Old Tower Cemetery needed a lifting solution which was lightweight and portable. There is very limited space around the graves to assemble or manoeuvre lifting equipment and the ground and surroundings have to be respected. The solution also needed to be able to be used regularly, but assembled and put away quickly and easily when not required.

The Solution

Boels analysed the surroundings at the cemetery and judged that there was no room for standard lifting equipment and that forklifts would be too heavy for the ground and walkways. Instead, they recommended a lightweight, but extremely strong ANSI Z359.18-17 compliant REID Lifting PORTAGANTRY® with an 27' 6¾" beam and capacity to safely lift up to 6600lb.

The A-Frame of the 10’ 4” high PORTAGANTRY® weighs just 145lb, while the beam weighs 286lb. This is easily within the limits of what the ground can withstand and means that just two members of the maintenance team can manually assemble the system between them using the four bolts provided. In use, they can assemble the system on a paved location away from the graveyard and then manoeuvre it into position over the graves using the 360° lockable, swivel castors which come as standard.

Boels also supplied additional 1100lb and 2000lb cable hoists and cable to work with the adjustable height of the REID PORTAGANTRY® to make lifting and lowering of the coffins and gravestones simple and easy.

When not in use, the portable PORTAGANTRY® can be easily taken down and stored in a safe location. Because it is manufactured from anodized aluminum, even if it is not stored undercover, it is still protected from corrosion.

The feedback

The supervisors at The Old Tower found the REID PORTAGANTRY® to be so useful that they ordered an additional, interchangeable 18' ½" beam so that they can use the system in smaller spaces as well and have the flexibility to adjust the beam to fit the width of the paths in the cemetery.