Osprey boosts heavy lift capability

Osprey Group, one of the UK’s leading specialist logistics firms, has invested in an Enerpac JS-250 Jack-Up system with a lifting capacity of 1000t. The 4-tower JS-250 is a compact and easily transportable solution suitable for many infrastructure and industrial projects.

The multi-point, synchronous lifting system enables lifts to a height of 10m, with the ability to enable assets to be skidded into final position with ease or transferred to other modes of transport. Moreover, the system’s compact design means larger loads can be moved within a smaller footprint.

Simon Massey, managing director of Osprey’s Heavy Lift Division, says, “We’re doing more work with clients who have ‘special projects’ – one-off critical assets, or components of an unusual shape or size or weight that are needed as part of a wider programme of work. As demands for efficiency grow, the solution is often greater capability at the same location. We’re being asked to consult on and deliver larger, taller, wider critical assets, into the same tight spaces.

“We’re also working with several clients who have niche needs – very specific, high value or unusual asset movements – and we expect that demand to increase. To service that need, we’ve invested heavily in additional lines of SPMTs and support steelwork, and the Enerpac system is going to deliver even more in terms of the one-off, innovative solutions for which we’re now known.”

The Enerpac JS-250 Jack-Up system will arrive in Q1 of 2023, reflecting Osprey’s timeline for expansion to service the needs of special projects’ clients. Massey continues, “Having this specialist equipment in-house gives our teams the hands-on experience to innovate, to deliver the right solutions for special projects that can reduce costs without taking shortcuts on health and safety, or schedules.”

The Enerpac JS-Series Jack-Up System is manufactured at Enerpac’s Hengelo facility in the Netherlands. Jeremy Stubbs, commercial director, Enerpac Heavy Lifting Technology commented, “We welcome Osprey Group’s continued investment in Enerpac hydraulic lifting systems. The JS-250 Jack-Up will be a powerful addition to their portfolio and fits well with the company’s reputation for bespoke solutions to challenging lifting projects.”

The Enerpac JS-Series Jack-Up System has transformed the way many heavy lift projects are handled. The Jack-Up system is a synchronised lifting and lowering system with self-contained hydraulics in each unit for uncluttered work areas. Loads are lifted in increments as steel boxes, called “barrels” are stacked together to form lifting towers to mechanically hold the load. The Jack-Up system uses computer controls for seamless synchronous control, raising and lowering all towers at the same time.

Osprey is an independent, British company. For 25 years, Osprey has been delivering and installing some of the world’s heaviest assets and largest abnormal loads – specialist logistics of all kinds, both here in the UK and internationally. With an impressive range of owner-operated equipment, Osprey’s teams deliver unexpected value by finding the right specialist approach to each project, as early on in the programme of works as possible. Whether the project involves moving tunnel boring machines across the UK to a nuclear power plant, or installing wind turbines in Sweden, this includes ingenious applications for some of the UK’s most capable heavy-lift cranes, over 120 SPMTs, hydraulic lifts and skids, carousels, heavy transport, and an extensive fleet of ocean-going and inland barges.