Single-girder overhead cranes span a working-load range from 125 kg up to 100 t across currently listed 2026 product lines, with bridge spans reaching 32 m and lifting heights between 6 m and 20 m on standard kits [S4].
The category is differentiated less by a single brand feature than by four engineering axes: top-running versus under-slung suspension, wire-rope versus electric-chain hoist, light-duty versus heavy/FEM-rated service, and structural configuration (low-headroom, monorail, explosion-proof, double-girder-convertible) [S3][S5].
Suspension Type: Top-Running vs Under-Slung
Top-running single-girder cranes ride on rails mounted atop the building's runway beams, transferring wheel loads through the end carriages into the building columns, which permits longer spans and higher hook-approach heights [S1].
Under-slung (suspended) configurations hang the girder directly from the runway track, eliminating the need for vertical clearance above the girder and allowing the hook to operate closer to the ceiling — TAWI's suspended single-girder line, for example, targets rectangular workstation coverage with a 1,500 kg SWL ceiling and 8 m bridge span [S1]. The same end-carriage concept also appears on free-standing gantry variants covered in the gantry crane reference, where the runway is relocated to floor-mounted legs.
Hoist Family: Wire-Rope, Electric Chain, and Manual
Wire-rope hoists dominate the heavy end of the single-girder envelope — IMMA Global A.S. lists a 100 t SWL single/double-girder configuration with rope hoist options for workshop and bulk-material service [S3]. OMIS's KIT line extends the rope-hoist single-girder family to 60,000 kg SWL with open-winch and large-format build options [S5].
Electric chain hoists occupy the 125 kg to ~5 t light-to-medium band, frequently delivered as modular kits for small OEM and distributor channels [S4][S5]. Manual travelling single-girder cranes — essentially hand-pushed bridge and trolley with chain-block lift — remain in spec for low-duty, low-frequency service, as listed by Yaplex Ltd across 0.1 t to 20 t SWL [S2]. For installations that need calibrated load monitoring on the hook, dedicated crane scale units clamp onto the hoist sheave and add a load-cell feedback channel to any of these configurations.
Duty Class, Span, and Headroom Constraints
Light-duty single-girder cranes — defined for workshop and warehouse use with SWL from 125 kg to 12,000 kg, spans up to 32 m, and 10 m/min hoist speed — are delivered as custom-engineered kits by OMIS [S4]. The same data sheet anchors the envelope: lifting height 6–20 m, single-speed hoist, and a manually or electrically traversed bridge.
Low-headroom single-girder designs reduce the dead space between girder and hook, which is the deciding geometry when a building has fixed mezzanines or process piping near the ceiling. Top-running and double-girder conversions trade that saved headroom for higher SWL and the ability to fit larger hoist drums — IMMA's heavy-duty, explosion-proof, and low-headroom variants all sit on the same 100 t-rated girder platform [S3]. When the operating envelope grows beyond a single workshop bay and the crane must move between buildings or load road trailers, the mobile crane reference covers the wheel-mounted alternatives; rail-mounted warehouse automation is covered under stacker crane configurations.
Selection Criteria Comparison
Engineers pick a single-girder configuration against four weighted criteria: Safe Working Load (SWL), span, headroom, and duty cycle — and the same engineering logic also underpins overhead bridge crane procurement in general. The comparison below lines up the documented 2026 options against those criteria: [S1]
· TAWI suspended single-girder: SWL 125 kg–1,500 kg, span up to 8 m, ceiling-suspended, light industrial — best for workstation coverage where floor space is reserved for production [S1].
· OMIS lightweight kit: SWL 125 kg–12,000 kg, span up to 32 m, lifting height 6–20 m, 10 m/min hoist — best for OEM/distributor build of workshop and warehouse units [S4].
· OMIS KIT rope-hoist: SWL 125 kg–60,000 kg, open-winch or large-format — best when a wire-rope hoist is mandatory at medium-heavy SWL [S5].
· Yaplex Ltd manual/hoist line: SWL 0.1 t–20 t, manual or powered X-Y travel, single or double girder convertible — best for low-frequency, low-automation environments [S2].
· IMMA Global A.S. heavy/explosion-proof: SWL to 100 t, rope hoist, low-headroom, with-grab, heavy-duty — best for steel mills, bulk handling, and ATEX/IECEx-zoned process plants [S3].
For projects that need higher hook height or longer spans than a single girder can deliver without excessive girder depth, the overhead bridge crane overview walks through the double-girder trade-off; the single-girder vs double-girder taxonomy and the gantry crane spec map extend the same decision framework to ground-supported and outdoor variants.
Industry and Environmental Variants
Single-girder cranes are also classified by the environment they are rated for: explosion-proof builds for oil & gas and paint shops, low-headroom builds for retrofit warehouses with shallow truss depth, marine-duty builds for harbours and shipyards, and aluminium-profile lightweight builds for cleanrooms or assembly lines where dead weight on the runway is constrained [S3][S6].
Verlinde's EUROSYSTEM ST, for example, packages a single-girder overhead travelling crane alongside monorail, roller-path, and double-girder variants from the same modular platform — an approach that lets a buyer swap the bridge configuration without re-engineering the end carriages [S7]. The 2026 listing count on marine and offshore channels lists at least six single-girder variants against two double-girder ones, with dedicated subtypes for harbours/terminals and shipyards [S6].
Limitations, Failure Modes, and Sourcing Signals
Single-girder cranes have a hard envelope: hook approach is limited by the hoist hanging below the girder, and deflection of a single box girder at long spans forces either a stiffer (heavier) section or a switch to a double-girder or crawler crane-mounted lift. Hoist service class (FEM/ISO duty group) and number of working cycles per shift are the two parameters that decide between light- and heavy-duty kits more than SWL alone [S3][S4].
Trackable 2026 sourcing signals: (1) a sustained OEM push toward modular kit delivery for SWL under 20 t, allowing small regional distributors to assemble certified bridges without holding full engineering teams [S4][S5]; (2) wider explosion-proof and low-headroom options bundled onto the same heavy-duty girder line, so ATEX/IECEx zone classification is no longer a custom-engineering premium [S3]; (3) explicit standard SWL ladders (125 kg, 250 kg, 500 kg, 1 t, 2 t, 3.2 t, 5 t, 6.3 t, 10 t, up to 20 t) being quoted by integrators as off-the-shelf rather than engineered specials [S2].