Free-standing crane structures, built from the ground up
Veltrixair designs, fabricates and erects free-standing crane structures across the Kingdom — independent steel frameworks engineered to host EOT, gantry, jib and process cranes where building-mounted installation isn't feasible or where structural independence is mandated. From civil investigation to first lift, civil and mechanical disciplines delivered under one accountable partner.
Four disciplines serving your project
A self-standing crane structure is a fully engineered building system in its own right. Veltrixair delivers all four required disciplines as an integrated scope to avoid fragmented sub-contracts.
Foundation & Civil
Soil investigation, foundation design, concrete works, anchor bolt embedment.
Structural Verification
Verification of wind/seismic loads per ASCE 7, deflection per FEM 9.511.
Steel Fabrication & Coating
AWS D1.1 welding, ASTM A572/A992 sections, KSA-tuned coating systems.
Crane Integration
Runway alignment, electrification, OEM commissioning to FEM tolerance.
What is included in a self-standing structure delivery
Self-standing structure work is delivered as a single EPC scope spanning civil, structural and mechanical disciplines. The package below is the standard inclusion, calibrated to KSA Building Code, AISC steel design standards, and OEM crane integration requirements.
Foundation & civil
Reinforced concrete pad foundation, pile foundation if soil dictates, anchor bolt embedment design, baseplate sizing per AISC 360, and grout pocket detailing.
Steel fabrication & QA coordination
Workshop coordination, weld procedure approval per AWS D1.1, material certifications for ASTM A572 / A992 sections, and CWI inspection of all fabricated members before shipment.
Coating & corrosion protection
Surface preparation to Sa 2½, zinc-rich primer, intermediate coat and polyurethane top coat — tuned for KSA's coastal, desert and industrial atmospheres with 20+ year design life.
Foundation construction supervision
Excavation, rebar placement, concrete pour with witness, anchor bolt template installation, and 28-day strength verification before steel erection commences.
Steel erection & alignment
Column erection, baseplate grouting, runway beam alignment to FEM 9.511 tolerance, bolted and welded connections per design drawings, and plumb verification across all columns.
Bracing & secondary steelwork
X-bracing, knee braces or K-bracing per design, gusset plates, runway tie-backs, and access platforms / walkways for inspection and maintenance access.
Crane integration onto structure
EOT, gantry or jib crane installation onto the new framework, runway-to-crane interface verification, electrification routing, and integrated commissioning.
Combined load testing
Foundation settlement check under load, structural deflection measurement at 100% and 125% SWL, and crane operational testing per Phase 4 of standard installation methodology.
Documentation & as-built handover
As-built drawings, structural calculations dossier, weld inspection certificates, anchor bolt torque records, coating thickness reports, and OEM warranty registration.
Various configurations
to fit your site
Self-standing structures come in many shapes — driven by the footprint available, the lift envelope required, the operating environment, and whether the structure needs to be permanent or relocatable. We build every configuration below to KSA Building Code and AISC 360 standards.
Portal Frame Gantry
Two-column self-standing gantry with overhead beam and integrated crane runway. The most common configuration for outdoor laydown yards and prefab plants.
- Span up to 35m
- Capacity to 100T
- Permanent foundation
A-Frame /
Trestle Structure
Triangulated structural form with inherent lateral stability — economical for medium spans and ideal where wind loads dominate the design envelope.
- Span 8 — 25m
- Capacity to 50T
- High lateral stiffness
Hybrid
Building-Integrated
Self-standing structure within an existing building — runway loads transferred to dedicated columns rather than the host structure. Used when the building shell is sound but unable to bear crane loads.
- Inside existing building
- Independent load path
- No host building rework
Civil engineered to Saudi Building Code. Steel to AISC
Self-standing structures fall under civil, structural, mechanical and CMAA regulations. Every Veltrixair project is engineered, fabricated, erected and certified to the full standards framework below.
The integrated civil + mechanical partner for self-standing crane work
Most crane installation contractors stop at the runway flange. Most steel fabricators stop at the column baseplate. Self-standing structure work requires both disciplines — and a fragmented sub-contracting model creates exactly the scope gaps that lead to settlement issues, alignment failures and warranty disputes.
Civil, structural and mechanical under one project director
Veltrixair owns the full scope from soil report to first lift — geotechnical, structural design, steel fabrication coordination, civil works supervision, steel erection, and crane integration. One project director, one BoQ, one warranty.
STAAD.Pro and SAP2000 modelling capability
Structural design isn't outsourced. Our in-house engineering team produces the FEA model, runs the wind/seismic analysis, sizes the connections and stamps the calculations dossier — accountable for the design from day one.
SBC for the Kingdom, AISC for the steel
We design and certify against the Saudi Building Code for regulatory conformity AND against AISC 360 / ASCE 7 / AWS D1.1 for international steel-construction standard. Both frameworks documented in the calculations package.
Built-once or relocatable — your choice
For phased construction, temporary plants, or sites with future relocation needs, we design the structure with bolted modular connections from day one. The same crane-bearing structure can be dismantled, transported and re-erected at a new site.
Need to install a crane where there's no building?
Whether it's a 30-tonne portal frame for an outdoor pipe yard at Yanbu, a relocatable A-frame for a phased construction site at NEOM, or a hybrid structure inside an existing Riyadh facility — share your scope and we'll be on site within five working days for a no-obligation engineering assessment.