Top-Running Cranes

Designed for higher capacities, longer spans, and large coverage areas, top-running cranes can support loads up to 60 tons and spans up to 100 feet. Each system is custom-engineered to fit your building, lifting requirements, and how materials need to move through your operation.

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Built for Higher Capacities & Longer Spans

Top-running cranes travel on rails mounted above the runway beams. This means they can support higher capacities and longer spans while maximizing available overhead space in your facility.

This configuration provides several advantages for larger lifting applications.

  • Higher Lifting Capacities: Support heavier loads and more demanding material handling requirements.

  • Longer Spans: Cover large production areas with spans reaching up to 100 feet.

  • Greater Hook Height: Mounting the crane above the runway can provide greater vertical lifting space below the system.

  • Single- or Double-Girder Configurations: Configure the crane around the required capacity, span, hook height, and application.

overhead crane at new geotek facility

Engineered for Your Lifting Requirements

Top-running cranes are available in single- and double-girder configurations. The right design depends on your load, span, duty cycle, and facility.

overhead crane at new geotek facility

Single-Girder Top-Running Cranes

Single-girder cranes use one bridge girder to support the hoist and trolley. They’re an efficient, cost-effective option when the required capacity, span, and duty cycle don’t call for a double-girder system.

Best Fit:

✓ Moderate capacities
✓
Shorter spans

Double-Girder Top-Running Cranes

Double-girder cranes use two bridge girders to support the hoist and trolley. They’re well-suited for applications requiring higher lifting capacities, longer spans, and more demanding duty cycles.

Best Fit:

✓ Higher lifting capacities
✓
Longer spans
✓ Heavy-duty or frequent lifting applications

A Demag overhead crane is used to move a forklift.

Lifting Solutions Designed Around Your Facility

A top-running crane has to work with your building as well as your lifting requirements. Our team considers the complete system when designing your crane.

overhead crane at new geotek facility

Runway & Structure

Building structure, runway design, and support requirements.

crane inspection

Capacity & Span

Load requirements and the area the crane needs to cover.

Hook Height & Clearance

Available vertical space and required lifting height.

crane lifting steel

Duty Cycle

How frequently the crane operates and the application demands.

crane lifting steel

Load Handling

Vacuum lifters, magnets, grabs, or spreader bars, depending on the material being handled.

Controls

Pendant, radio, and other control requirements.

See Our Top-Running Cranes in Action

From overcoming facility constraints to improving how heavy materials are handled, see how RMH has solved real lifting challenges for customers.

20+ Crane Systems Increase Capacity by 50% for Industrial Equipment Manufacturer

Scott Equipment is a family-owned manufacturer of industrial processing equipment serving the animal feed, food, chemical, ethanol, and other industrial markets. When the company expanded its Arlington, Minnesota, facility, it turned to RMH Systems to provide the overhead cranes, hoists, and material handling equipment needed to support the additional production space.

Challenges

Scott Equipment’s Arlington facility expansion required a comprehensive lifting solution that could:

  • Support a range of manufacturing processes with different load capacities and lifting requirements.
  • Accommodate specialized applications, including explosion-proof equipment for the paint booth.
  • Transfer products between facilities with monorail systems connecting the new building, existing building, and wash bay.
  • Navigate COVID-era supply chain challenges while keeping a large-scale expansion project moving forward.

Solutions

RMH Systems designed and supplied a complete crane and hoist package for the expanded facility, matching each system to the lifting requirements of its specific application.

The project included:

  • 12 top-running single-girder 10-ton cranes, each equipped with two 5-ton Harrington chain hoists
  • One 5-ton top-running single-girder R&M crane with a wire rope hoist
  • One 10-ton top-running single-girder R&M crane with two 5-ton wire rope hoists
  • One 20-ton top-running double-girder crane with two 10-ton wire rope hoists
  • Two 10-ton Cable King explosion-proof wire rope monorail hoists with Remtron radio controls for the paint booth
  • Two 2-ton Gorbel mast-style jib cranes with Harrington chain hoists
  • Two 10-ton monorail systems, each with two 5-ton R&M wire rope hoists, to transfer products between the new building, existing facility, and wash bay

Results

✓ 50% more production capacity
✓ Expanded lifting capabilities to support a wider range of manufacturing requirements
✓ Improved product movement between the new building, existing facility, and wash bay
✓ Specialized lifting capabilities for areas such as the paint booth

“
We’ve had a track record of working with RMH successfully. We knew there were probably going to be some challenges, so we wanted to work with somebody we already had a relationship with and knew had the wherewithal to handle a project of this size.
Rich Lucas Owner Scott Equipment

How 100+ Custom Crane Systems Support Operations at Leading Steel Distributor

For more than 40 years, McNeilus Steel has partnered with RMH Systems to make heavy steel handling safer and more efficient. Across four facilities in Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, and Tennessee, RMH has provided more than 100 overhead cranes engineered for applications ranging from tubing and plate to 40-ton steel coils.

Challenges

Handling heavy steel products safely and efficiently requires different solutions depending on the material.

McNeilus needed crane systems that could handle everything from steel coils to tubing and plate while reducing labor-intensive material movement and supporting safer processes for employees.

Solutions

Coil Handling: 40-ton Demag double-girder cranes provide the capacity required to lift and move heavy steel coils.

Tubing Handling: 10-ton Demag double-girder cranes with dual hoists help operators handle and position long steel tubing.

Steel Plate Handling: 20-ton Demag double-girder cranes with dual hoists and magnets allow steel plate to be lifted and transported without relying on more labor-intensive handling methods.

Results

✓ Safer material handling by reducing labor-intensive movement of heavy steel products
✓ More efficient plate handling using magnets to lift and transport steel
✓ Application-specific lifting for coils, tubing, and plate
✓ Scalable crane infrastructure supporting operations across four facilities
✓ 100+ cranes installed over a 40-year partnership

Right-Sized Cranes for Complex Production at Fiberglass Composite Manufacturer

When GEOTEK expanded into fiberglass composite utility pole manufacturing, the company built a new 105,000-square-foot facility in Stewartville, Minnesota. The new operation required overhead cranes that could work within the facility layout while accommodating production equipment, space constraints, and changing lifting requirements.

Project Highlights

✓ Right-sized crane systems with capacities and controls matched to each application
✓ Engineering adjustments to accommodate machine clearances and other facility challenges
✓ Specialized radio controls for precise crane operation
✓ Post-installation tuning to ensure the controls met GEOTEK’s operational needs

overhead crane at new geotek facility
“
RMH has consistently delivered right-sized cranes of various sizes and control types on time and goes above and beyond to ensure that they meet the actual customer needs and project timelines. They did a fantastic job overall on our projects.
R. Henry Meyer Manager, Composite Process Engineering GEOTEK
overhead crane inspection

One Trusted Partner for Complete Overhead Crane Support

With RMH Systems, you have one team behind your top-running crane from initial design through ongoing support.

  • Installation & Commissioning: Professional installation and commissioning for a smooth transition into operation.

  • Inspections: Required overhead crane inspections to identify potential issues and help maintain safe operation.

  • Load Testing: Verification that your crane performs safely at its rated capacity.

  • Preventive Maintenance & Repair: Planned maintenance and responsive overhead crane repair to minimize downtime and equipment issues.

  • Upgrades & Modernization: Controls, hoists, and other upgrades to extend equipment life and meet changing operational needs.