PREFATEC France has for the last 38 years offered bespoke technical solutions to professionals and private
individuals for prefabricated electrical installations designed for new buildings or those being renovated. The
company called on VERLINDE to install equipment in its new extension which integrated a production facility.
Prefatec’s main constraint for the fitting out of its new building involved dense operator traffic: the ground
surface area had to be completely free of obstructions in order to facilitate their movements. In the
production facility area, as load handling was mainly manual, the lifting system had to be ergonomic and
travel had to be mechanically free. VERLINDE also had to take account of the lightness of the structure of
the existing framework to which the weight of the handling equipment had to be adapted.
VERLINDE therefore proposed an electrical handling structure in aluminium to be suspended from the
building’s structural framework, a lightweight and economical option that left the ground surface area free
from obstacles.
VERLINDE first of all had meetings with architects to validate the mass to be borne. As the loads to be
handled were light, the installation was made up of 4 lifting cranes installed side by side, each with a lifting
capacity of 125 kg and a span of 4 metres for a travel length of 20 metres. The hanging structure takes 2.29
kN. A total of 176 metres of EUROSYSTEM aluminium rails were installed. This range of hollow sections free
of gaps benefitting from an excellent minimum loss of headroom is available as monorails, runways, single-
beam or double-beam overhead cranes, simple or complex circuit systems with change of direction by
switching or by a multidirectional turntable, offering great flexibility due to its design.
The EUROSYSTEM overhead handling system offers the ideal solution for moving light loads and fits in very
well with site layout imperatives or production processes and numerous configurations are available. In the
case of Prefatec, the suspended design of the system minimising stress on the bearing structure meets the
weight constraint. What is more, the excellent rolling coefficient facilitates the smooth travel of loads.
Construction constraints were complied with, the equipment was installed once the concrete floor had dried
and according to a precise erection schedule which was faithfully observed. Likewise, commissioning was
also subject to strict compliance with an agreed timetable.
VERLINDE:
> Company born in 1858
> The leading French manufacturer and exporter of lifting and handling equipment.
> A constantly-upgraded range of 30 groups of lifting equipment, designed for loads from 60 to 250,000 kg.
ISO 9001 quality assurance certified and ISO 14001 EMS certified (environment management system).
In France:
EUROPONT travelling crane construction plants, a sales network, a distributor network and after sales
facilities.
Abroad:
> An advisory service in more than 92 countries.
For more information, visit www.verlinde.com.
