Floor Cranes and Jib Cranes for Heavy Engineering Workshop in Ahmedabad
⚠ The Challenge
The client manufactures industrial valves and heavy castings at their Vatva GIDC facility in Ahmedabad — Gujarat’s largest industrial estate. Raw castings (500 kg to 3 tonnes) needed to be loaded onto CNC machines, rotated between machining operations and moved to assembly stations. A single 10-tonne overhead crane served all 12 machining bays, creating wait times of 20-30 minutes per crane cycle. During peak production, machinists spent more time waiting for the crane than actually machining. The crane was also a safety concern — overhead travel of 3-tonne suspended loads over workers was flagged in the client’s ISO 45001 audit.
✔ Our Solution
Nio Equipment supplied 3 floor cranes (3-tonne capacity, hydraulic boom with 360-degree manual rotation) for the heavy machining bays and 2 jib cranes (2-tonne capacity, 3-metre reach, floor-mounted with electric hoist) for the medium machining and assembly area. Floor cranes are mobile — repositioned by 2 workers between bays as needed. Jib cranes serve dedicated bays with 360-degree swing coverage. Both types handle loading/unloading without overhead crane involvement, and loads travel at floor/bay level rather than overhead across the shop.
Key Results
The Challenge
Vatva GIDC in Ahmedabad is one of India’s largest industrial estates, housing over 3,500 manufacturing units across chemicals, engineering, textiles and pharmaceuticals. This client’s valve manufacturing facility operates 12 CNC machining centres, each processing castings that must be loaded, repositioned and unloaded multiple times per part. With a single overhead crane serving all 12 bays, the crane became the single biggest throughput constraint — and a growing safety liability.
Our Solution
Rather than installing additional overhead cranes — which would require structural upgrades costing 5-10x more — Nio Equipment provided a distributed lifting solution. Three mobile floor cranes handle the heaviest castings (up to 3 tonnes) with hydraulic boom lift and manual 360-degree rotation. Two floor-mounted jib cranes with electric chain hoists serve dedicated bays for medium components. This combination gives every machining bay independent lifting capability without overhead infrastructure.
Results
The transformation was immediate. Machinists who previously waited 20-30 minutes for the overhead crane now handle their own loading with the bay-level crane in under 5 minutes. The overhead crane is used only for receiving raw castings from trucks — freeing it from the constant tug-of-war between 12 bays. Machining throughput increased 25%, and the ISO 45001 auditor specifically commended the reduction in overhead suspended-load travel. The client recovered the full investment within 6 months.
“One overhead crane for 12 machining bays was madness. Five Nio cranes — 3 floor cranes and 2 jib cranes — solved a problem we’d lived with for 15 years. Throughput is up 25% and every bay is independent now.”— Production Manager, Valve Manufacturer, Ahmedabad