Loaninghill

Published on: 26th September 2025

Introduction

Loaninghill Fabrication Co Ltd is a long-established Scottish fabrication company, with decades of experience rooted in the fencing and blacksmith trade. The business has steadily grown from a smallholding operation into a specialist supplier of high-quality gates, railings, posts, and fabricated steelwork. Today, Loaninghill supports a wide client base, including some of Scotland’s leading fencing contractors and infrastructure providers.

Operating from a purpose-built facility in the East Mains Industrial Estate in Broxburn, the company manages the full fabrication process in-house – from initial design and estimating through to production and delivery. With a well-established reputation for reliability, craftsmanship, and on-time performance, Loaninghill continues to play a key role in supporting infrastructure, security, and access control projects across the region.

As the scale and complexity of client demands have increased, so too has the need for more advanced handling and logistics capabilities. Site deliveries now routinely involve large or prefabricated items, specialist steel components, and static machinery – often requiring access to constrained or difficult-to-reach areas. To meet these operational challenges and support continued growth, Loaninghill invested in the Sterling Multiload plant body: a highly versatile and robust solution designed to handle a broad range of lifting, loading, and transport scenarios with efficiency and safety

The Solution: Sterling Multiload Beavertail

The chosen plant body – a Sterling Multiload, mounted on a Volvo FM 8×2 32T chassis and equipped with a Fassi 545 crane – delivers unrivalled flexibility for transporting structural steelwork, fencing supplies, and prefabricated metal components to sites throughout West Lothian and beyond.

Key Crane Specifications:

• Lifting 2000kg at 18.5m with main boom
• Winch setup on the main boom, lifting 1600kg at 18.4m
• 470kg at 28.6m using fly jib with winch

Multiload Features & Benefits:

Dual-Purpose Utility: Functions as both a crane vehicle for lifting and a beavertail for machinery transport.

Cheesewedge Fold-Forward Ramps: Enable easy loading of plant or non-driven items; ramps can be stored in a flat or upright position. Also fitted to the ramps is a centre gate – to maximise deck utilisation by placing equipment such as booms through the ramp.

Low Deck Height & Ramp Angles: Ensures safer, more efficient loading with a lower centre of gravity for improved road stability.

Heavy-Duty Body Design: Shotblasted, painted in two-pack RAL colour, galvanised steelwork for corrosion resistance, and 300mm spaced crossmembers for best load bearing.

Enhanced Electrical System: Plug & Play, fully enclosed wiring loom with sealed connections for durability in all conditions.

Multiload, Loaded with Versatility

By selecting the Sterling Multiload plant body, Loaninghill Fabrication Co Ltd has significantly improved its logistical and operational capabilities. This investment directly benefits local authority projects through:

Reduced Downtime: Faster, safer, and more adaptable loading and unloading reduces site time. Reliable nationwide support – from initial specification to delivery and aftercare – it is backed by over 250 repair agents, ensuring minimal disruption wherever you operate.

Improved Site Access: The long reach and lifting precision of the Fassi 545 crane allows efficient access to constrained or complex environments.

Fewer Vehicle Movements: Multi-functional body allows combined delivery of materials and machinery in one trip, reducing environmental impact and local disruption.

Reliability in Service Delivery: The truck’s high-spec design and engineering excellence allow Loaninghill to meet tight project deadlines.

Specification Upgrades: Enhancing Functionality and Safety

To further tailor the vehicle for maximum utility across council and contractor projects, several strategic upgrades were made to the base Sterling Multiload Beavertail Crane Truck specification. These enhancements were implemented to improve load security, operator safety, and site versatility:

1. 1. Channel Side Rave – Upgrading to a Channel Side Rave with lashing bars allows for secure anchoring of various load types – essential when transporting irregular, heavy, or prefabricated components across mixed terrain
      • • Greater flexibility in securing loads of all shapes and sizes
        • Increased load safety during transit, reducing movement and risk of damage
   2. 12,000lb Electric Winch – The addition of a 12,000lb electric winch significantly increases the vehicle’s capacity to load immobilised machinery and equipment.
      • • Enables the safe and efficient recovery or loading of heavy static equipment
        • Reduces the need for external lifting equipment or additional vehicles

Conclusion

The addition of the Sterling Multiload Beavertail Crane Truck to Loaninghill Fabrication Co Ltd’s fleet has delivered significant operational benefits, enabling their team to handle a broader range of tasks more efficiently, safely, and with reduced downtime.

The multi-functional design of the Multiload body – offering both crane lifting and beavertail transport capabilities – means it can be used for everything from delivering prefabricated steelwork and fencing materials, to transporting non-driven machinery and static equipment. This dual-purpose platform streamlines logistics, reduces the need for multiple vehicle types, and allows for more flexible scheduling and response to customer needs.

Combined with upgraded features such as the channel side rave, electric winch, and 3-stage stowable ladder, the truck offers enhanced load security, operator safety, and on-site performance.