Power, Passion, Partnership: what “Engineered for the Sea” means at Heila Cranes

Three words open the About Us page of heila.com: Power, Passion, Partnership. They are not a slogan chosen for the sound. They describe, in the right order, how a Heila crane comes to be: the engineering that makes it powerful, the people who make it well, and the relationship with the customer that keeps it working for decades. This is what each of them means in practice.

Power: engineering that performs where conditions are toughest

Heila designs and manufactures fully foldable and knuckle-telescopic boom cranes for demanding marine and offshore operations. Power, for us, is not only lifting capacity, although the range runs from compact units for small workboats up to offshore cranes of 1,500 tm. It is the ability to deliver that capacity on a moving deck, in salt air, in the cold, year after year.

Every Heila crane is engineered in-house, with 3D modelling and finite-element analysis (ANSYS) of structures and pins. The design is compact and lightweight, so the crane takes the least possible deck space and weight for its class. Every unit goes through the Heila Anti-Corrosion Program, with the optional HD4+ package, NORSOK M-501 compliant finishes and flame-spray metallization for the most extreme environments. Where the mission requires it, cranes are fitted with Active Heave Compensation for subsea and ship-to-ship operations, AOPS/MOPS overload protection, constant-tension and personnel-lifting winches, and low-temperature or Arctic packages, designed to comply with the major ship classification registers and EN 13852-1 for offshore applications.

Passion: since 1978, doing one thing well

Since 1978 Heila has designed and built marine cranes at its headquarters in Poviglio, in the heart of Italy’s mechanical engineering district. More than 4,500 cranes produced, over 3,300 of them foldable telescopic cranes: the product family in which Heila has chosen to specialise rather than diversify. Specialisation is one of our three values, together with reliability and leadership. It means that the people who design, build and test our cranes work on marine cranes and nothing else.

It also means we still enjoy the difficult jobs: the yacht crane that has to disappear into a hatch, the ATEX-rated unit, the Arctic package, the dredging crane, the manipulator for cement and bulk handling. Custom solutions are not an exception to the range; they are where the range comes from.

Partnership: the crane is only the beginning

A marine crane is specified together with the people who will live with it: the shipyard, the naval architect, the owner, the crew. That dialogue starts before the order, with configuration, deck loads, outreach, class requirements and delivery times, and continues long after commissioning. Through an international service network, with headquarters in Italy, a branch in the Netherlands and authorised dealers worldwide, Heila provides technical support, installation, commissioning, repairs, remote assistance and original spare parts.

When a crane has served its first life, the Refurbishment Program gives it a second one: complete overhaul, new anti-corrosion treatment, extended operational life and new warranty coverage. In the last eight years alone, more than 360 Heila cranes have been certified by major classification societies. Each one is a project shared with a customer.

Three words, one promise

Power without reliability is a risk. Passion without specialisation is noise. A product without partnership is just a delivery. A Heila crane is the point where the three meet: built to perform where conditions are toughest, by people who do only this, for customers we stay with for the whole working life of the crane.

Where you will find Heila cranes

Heila cranes operate worldwide on multicats, tugs and workboats; in subsea and deep-water operations; on yacht support vessels and superyachts; with navies and coast guards; in fishing and aquaculture; on oceanographic research vessels; in dredging and port works; and in offshore oil, gas and wind. Explore the full range of marine and offshore cranes.

Heila Cranes in numbers

• Since 1978, engineered for the sea
• 4,500+ cranes produced
• 3,300+ foldable telescopic cranes delivered
• 360+ cranes certified by major classification societies in the last 8 years

Talk to us

If you are specifying a crane for a new build or a refit, configure your crane online or request a quote. If you already have a Heila crane on board, our Service and Spare Parts team is one message away. And if you would like to see what we build and where, follow Heila Cranes on LinkedIn.