The winners of the 2024 ESTA Awards were announced on April 25 at the Hilton Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, during the Intermat exhibition.
In total, there are 37 finalists across the ten categories from 12 different countries.
Over 400 guests attended the dinner to celebrate what ESTA believes to be the strongest list of finalists to date.
ESTA Director Ton Klijn said: “Everyone at ESTA is delighted and honoured that our awards receive such excellent support. Of course we congratulate the winners, but we would also like to thank all of the finalists and all those who entered.
“It is your commitment and effort that enables us to show the world, including our clients and political leaders, the important and professional work that our industry delivers day in, day out.
“We look forward to seeing you in Munich next year for the 2025 edition.”
The 2024 winners and finalists are as follows (click here for images and videos):
Category – Combined Techniques
WINNER
Allelys
Allelys completed a unique beach landing operation and subsequent challenging road transport of a 155 tonne transformer from Black Rock Sands in North Wales to a substation at Trawsfynydd.
FINALISTS
BMS
BMS was contracted to install two new pressure chambers weighing 56 and 72 tonnes respectively on the basement level of the Danish National Hospital in Copenhagen.
Huisman Equipment
Huisman used an ingenious combination of different ultra-heavy lift techniques to install the 1,600 metric tonne capacity Leg Encircling Crane on the offshore vessel Sea Installer in the port of Rotterdam.
Wagenborg Nedlift
To replace the old Violette Bridge with a new modern bridge in Duisburg, Germany, Wagenborg Nedlift used an inventive mix of horizontal and vertical displacement techniques on land and water.
Category – Transport up to 120t GCW
WINNER
Heavy Load Service (HLS)
The transport of 2 gigantic tanks with a diameter of 5.5 meters from Hengelo in the Netherlands to the French village of Golbey, involved 140 kilometers of road transport through rural France and the approval of five different electricity companies.
FINALISTS
Collett & Sons
Collett transported of components for eight wind turbines to the Drumlins Park wind farm in Ireland and carried out a trial run to identify potential challenges along the transport route.
M J Van Riel
Transporting an arched bridge section 47 metres long, 6.20 metres wide and weighing 115 tonnes from Hamont-Achel to Liège in Belgium, Van Riel’s team completed this 121 kilometre challenge in one night.
Vlk
Ongoing permit problems in Germany prompted Czech transport specialist Vlk to transport the superstructure of a CAT 390 excavator by water rather than by road. From Haaften in the Netherlands, the journey took a detour via Antwerp and Gdynia in Poland to Prunéřov in the Czech Republic
Category – Telescopic Cranes over 120t capacity
WINNER
Ainscough Crane Hire
For the exchange of a kiln installation during the largest shutdown in the history of the Rugby Cement plant in the UK, Ainscough Crane Hire carried out several complex lifting operations down to the centimeter and completed over a 6-day period working 24 hours.
FINALISTS
Kraanbedrijf Nederhoff
Nederhoff came up with an ingenious solution for building a technical room on the roof of a meat processing plant in Gouda, the Netherlands: a Potain tower crane was placed on the roof, minimising the use of large cranes blocking the road.
Sarens
The Dutch Nelson Mandela Bridge, which crosses the A12 motorway, appeared to be in a critical condition and Sarens replaced it with a new temporary bridge in just three weeks.
Schot Vertical Transport
To position a unit in the backyard of a house near the centre of Amsterdam, Schot Vertical Transport set up a 400 tonne mobile crane with a 63 metre luffing jib in a narrow street
Category – Safety
WINNER
Liebherr-Werk Nenzing
The engineers at Liebherr-Werk Nenzing have developed an individual mode for crawler crane operation on a floating unit (pontoon, barge) with different load curves, which results in significantly safer lifting operations.
FINALISTS
Nordic Crane
Nordic Crane has developed a complete app-based SAFETY handbook to ensure that all crane operators have the tools to provide the customer with service, quality and safety in all operations.
Prangl Gesellschaft
Prangl’s own HSE corporate culture program was developed to increase and continuously improve performance in the Health, Safety, and Environment area and to integrate it into every activity of each employee.
Category – Innovation
WINNER
BKV
BKV has developed the TensionMaster, a tool that is designed to eliminate the risks of hoist rope damage, shock loading of the crane and potential damage to the lifted object.
FINALISTS
Fagioli
An innovative lifting solution consisting of an ingenious combination of SPMTs, barges and strandjacks was used by Fagioli to install bridge sections of a 305 metre long suspension bridge over the Danube river on the A26 motorway in Linz, Austria.
Huisman Equipment
The all-electric, road-transportable Huisman Ringer Crane excels in wind installations, with its impressive capacity, large lifting height, low ground pressure and fast operation due to its modular design.
Liebherr – Werk Ehingen
Liebherr’s engineers developed a fast, safe and simple solution for a space-saving assembly of a luffing jib. The new system means that, on average, 30 percent less space is required on site to assemble a luffing jib.
Category – Telescopic Cranes under 120t capacity
WINNER
M.J. van Riel
Sixteen cranes were used by Van Riel’s team to move a 352-metre section of heat pipeline during a drilling operation under the busy Erasmusplein in The Hague, a solution that allowed trees and bushes along the route to be spared.
FINALIST
M. Verschoor
For the installation of new glass panels on the striking Infinity building in Amsterdam, the Verschoor team developed a smart, efficient and sustainable lifting solution using two aerial platform cranes.
Category – Transport over 120 t
WINNER
Kahl & Jansen
On its way from Ibbenbüren to Niederaussem in Germany, a 350 tonne generator crossed several bridges with a maximum permitted axle load of 14 tonnes. The transport specialists at Kahl & Jansen used a transport combination of 2 x 26 axle lines and a girder bridge, resulting in a gross combination weight of 798 tonnes.
FINALISTS
Allelys
Although abnormal loads had previously been transported from Buckie Harbour to a site near Rothienorman Substation in Scotland, the dimensions of a 158 tonne transformer and 352 tonne generator were significantly larger than previous loads.
Collett & Sons
Collett & Sons successfully completed the transportation of two main inlet valves of 160 tonnes each and two MIVs of 147 tonnes each as part of the Dinorwig Hydro-Power station essential upgrade.
Friderici Spécial
Frederici’s experts managed to safely carry out a challenging transport of a 120 tonne transformer, with a total transport weight of 274 tonnes, to the Swiss village of Ernen, located on a mountain road beneath the Rhone glacier, a route that included a gradient of more than 10% and 180-degree hairpin bends.
Category – Cranes lattice boom
WINNER
Ainscough Crane Hire
For the upgrade of Liverpool’s Anfield football stadium in the UK, Ainscough removed an existing stand structure using an ingenious tandem lift operation by two crawler cranes.
FINALISTS
Hareket Heavy Lifting and Project Transportation
Positioning 6 spools weighing up to 102 tonnes was a challenge on this project in Gölcük, Turkey. Hareket managed to complete the job using a 600 tonne capacity crawler crane.
Mammoet Europe
Mammoet replaced the leg cranes on two offshore wind vessels, using a PTC ringer crane, combined with an 800 tonne Liebherr crawler to improve stability and control.
Sarens NV
Sarens’ all-electric and silent ringer crane solution was used on the replacement of two century-old railway bridges in Massy, near Paris.
Category – SPMT
WINNER
Wagenborg Nedlift
Wagenborg Nedlift transported two large storage tanks from the inland quayside in Urmond in the Netherlands to the Chemelot Geleen industrial estate. going through the village and crossing the Netherlands’ busiest motorway, the A2.
FINALISTS
Hareket Heavy Lifting and Project Transportation
Hareket has completed the largest and heaviest transport project in Turkey to date: the loading of an 11,350 tonne ship from the shipyard onto a floating dock using 384 axle lines and 9 power packs.
Fagioli
The SPMT transport of a 507-tonne turbine and a 378-tonne generator from the port to the new Komotini power station was a challenge of the highest order. Fagioli’s team reinforced bridges and built bypasses along the 67-kilometre route which included gradients of 14% and narrow local roads.
Sarens
The construction of a new metro station required Sarens to relocate the famous and fragile, 1,676 tonne Monument of the Combatants of Haute-Garron in Toulouse’s busy city centre.
Category – Training
WINNER
Prangl Gesellschaft
Prangl has set up an internal training and development campus called “BePrangl”.Every year, it compiles an updated training manual with all available courses. In 2023, a total of 58 training courses took place at BePrangl with 421 participants.
FINALISTS
Ainscough Crane Hire
Ainscough has raised the standard of training for novice crane operators by introducing a 12-month structured Mobile Crane Apprenticeship, consisting of industry specific training, intensive individual crane training and supervision by an experienced crane operator.
ASA France
ASA France has developed an innovative training programme that applies aviation standards to the heavy lift and transport industry. This training includes improving communication, decision-making, teamwork and situational awareness.
ESTA especially thanks its sponsors for their own commitment to supporting our industry and celebrating best practice in all its forms.
The sponsors of the 2024 awards are:
Gold: Faymonville, Liebherr, TII Scheuerle, XCMG
Silver: Kässbohrer, Manitowoc, Spierings Mobile Cranes, Tadano
Supporters: ERNA, GIS, Goldhofer, Köhler Kran-Service, Nooteboom, Schaften Cranes
Network Reception: Beequip
For photographs of the above projects, or of the awards dinner and presentations, contact ESTA marketing manager Connie Lindhoud at marketing@estaeurope.eu.
For any further information about ESTA, please contact ESTA Communications Manager Graham Anderson at andersonmedia@btinternet.com or call +44 7711 650691.