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Crane hire in Preston and central Lancashire
We provide crane hire in Preston, which sits on the M6 at the point where most of the north-west’s freight passes through, and is surrounded by a set of sites that are unusually controlled for a city this size. Several of the largest employers around the city run their own clearance and induction regimes, so in central Lancashire the paperwork often has a longer lead time than the crane does. Around them sit the estates at Red Scar, Walton Summit and Bamber Bridge doing more ordinary engineering and distribution work.
We supply mobile cranes with operators, and we plan and run full contract lifts, across Preston, Fulwood, Penwortham, Bamber Bridge, Lostock Hall, Leyland, Chorley, Longridge and Kirkham. Most enquiries get a quote the same working day.
Crane hire or a contract lift?
With CPA crane hire, we supply the crane and operator, and you provide the lift plan, appointed person and lifting insurance. With a contract lift, we handle all of it. Every lift is carried out to BS 7121 by CPCS or NPORS operators, with equipment inspected under LOLER and PUWER. Our guide to crane hire vs contract lifting explains the difference in more detail.
Cranes for Preston jobs
| Crane type | Capacity / reach | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| All-terrain mobile crane | From 40t to 1,000t | Plant replacement, steelwork and large machinery installs |
| City crane / pick and carry | From 5t to 60t | Assembly halls, controlled areas and older works yards |
| Mobile tower crane | Up to 60m | Tight sites needing height and reach without a fixed tower crane |
| Tower crane | Luffing, flat top and self-erecting | Longer construction programmes and restricted city-centre sites |
Tell us the weight, radius and access for your Preston job and we’ll recommend the right machine. Not sure where to start? Read our guide to what size crane you need.
Contact us
Get In Touch
Please leave a few details and a member of our crane hire and contract lifting team will be in touch to discuss your requirements in more detail.
Where we work in and around Preston
Most of our Preston crane hire work falls into a handful of sectors.
Aerospace and advanced manufacturing
Assembly and test operations in this part of Lancashire sit in large buildings with precise floors and controlled access. Lifting in that environment is machine tool and jig installation, test rig equipment and plant replacement, with clearance and escort arrangements that have to be started well before the lift date. See our industrial sector page.
Controlled-access sites and clearance lead times
Several of the largest employers in central Lancashire run their own vetting, induction and escorted access regimes. On work of that kind the paperwork sets the sequence rather than the lift: approvals, isolations and supervision arrangements are settled in advance, and the crane arrives into a plan that has already been signed off. See our industrial sector page.
Vehicle and heavy manufacturing
The truck works at Leyland and the engineering operations around Farington and Moss Side bring line equipment, press and machine tool moves, paint and test plant, and the kind of installation that has to happen between shifts. See our machine delivery and installation service.
Food, drink and distribution
The estates along the M6 and M65 hold food production, cold storage and distribution operations, where the lifting is refrigeration plant, tanks, silos, conveyor equipment and rooftop units, planned around production and hygiene. See our food and beverages and HVAC sector pages.
Engineering and the Lancashire estates
Red Scar, Roman Road, Walton Summit, Bamber Bridge and Cuerden hold general engineering, fabrication and trade operations. Machinery deliveries and installs, factory relocations and plant changes through roof openings make up most of it. See our factory relocation service.
Hospitals, universities and construction
Chiller and air handling unit replacement, plant room equipment and laboratory kit across the hospital and university sites, plus steel erection and rooftop plant on the city centre and Cottam and Buckshaw development work. See our healthcare and pharma and construction sector pages.
Access and planning for lifts in Preston
Every site is different, but a few things come up again and again on Preston jobs:
- Clearance lead times. Where a site runs its own vetting and approval regime, the limiting factor is almost never the crane. Vetting, inductions, escorts and approval of the lift plan take time, and we would rather build that into the programme with you than turn up and be turned away.
- The M6 corridor. Junctions 29 to 32 give us good access from every direction, with the M65 east and the M55 out to the Fylde. The motorway end is easy; the approaches into the older parts of the city and out to the rural Fylde sites are what need checking.
- Crossing the Ribble. The river splits the city from Penwortham and Leyland, and the crossings carry most of the local traffic, so for anything oversized the timing matters as much as the route.
- Working between shifts. A lot of the manufacturing work here has to happen in a gap in production, which means night and weekend working and a sequence agreed in detail beforehand.
- Ground on the Fylde. West of the city the ground is flat, soft and in places drained peat and mossland, which changes outrigger loading. We confirm bearing pressures and use mats where the figures call for it.
- Road closures. Where a lift needs part of a road or footway closed, we can arrange the traffic management and road closure with Lancashire County Council or Preston City Council as part of the job.
Postcodes and areas we cover
We cover every PR postcode across the city and central Lancashire:
- Preston: city centre, Deepdale, Ribbleton, Fulwood, Ingol, Ashton and Cottam
- South of the Ribble: Penwortham, Lostock Hall, Bamber Bridge, Walton-le-Dale, Leyland and Buckshaw
- West to the Fylde: Salwick, Kirkham, Freckleton, Warton, Lytham and Wesham
- North and east: Longridge, Garstang, Samlesbury, Clitheroe and Chorley
- Wider area: Blackburn, Accrington, Southport and Lancaster
Beyond Preston we also work across Lancashire, the Fylde coast and into Greater Manchester. See all the areas we cover.
Why Preston firms choose Synergy Lifting for crane hire
- Controlled sites do not faze us. Vetting, inductions, escorts and lift plan approval are part of how we programme a job here rather than obstacles we discover late.
- We work when production stops. Nights, weekends and shutdown gaps, with the sequence agreed in advance so the line is running again when it should be.
- Qualified and accredited. CPCS and NPORS operators, lifts planned to BS 7121, and a business certified to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, with Constructionline Gold Member registration.
- One contractor for the whole lift. We can take on the lift plan, appointed person, RAMS, supervision and insurance.
More than cranes
Many Preston jobs need more than a lift, so we also offer:
How to book a crane
- Send us the site location, load weight, access details and dates. Photos help.
- We quote, usually the same working day. Complex lifts may need a site visit first.
- For contract lifts we prepare the lift plan and RAMS. For CPA hire we advise on crane position and set-up.
- We arrive on the agreed day and carry out the lift to BS 7121.
Common questions
How much notice do controlled-access sites need?
More than most people allow for. The lift itself might be a morning, but clearance, inductions and approval of the lift plan can run to weeks depending on the site and the people involved. Tell us the site as early as you can and we will tell you what the realistic date looks like.
Can you install a machine tool onto a prepared foundation?
Yes, and that is a large part of our work in this area. The crane gets it into the building and skates, rollers and jacking take it to position and onto its mounts, with the alignment checked as we go. Our machine delivery and installation page explains the process.
Can you lift at night or over a weekend?
Regularly. Where a lift has to fit a gap in production we plan it for the gap, including the set-up and de-rig time either side, which is the part that usually gets underestimated.
Get a quote for crane hire in Preston
- Phone: 01253 928 180
- Email: preston@synergy-lifting.co.uk
We also provide crane hire in Blackpool, Wigan, Warrington and Manchester. See all the areas we cover.