Material handling covers the movement, protection, storage and control of materials at every stage of the supply chain, from raw goods arriving at a site through to finished products leaving it.
It’s not a single activity but a discipline that spans manufacturing, warehousing, distribution and, eventually, disposal. What is classed as material handling applies just as much to a pallet of components moving through a factory as it does to structural steel being positioned on a construction site.
The materials themselves vary enormously. In a warehouse setting, that might mean packaged goods moving between storage and dispatch. In heavy industry, it could mean raw metal stock, fabricated parts or plant machinery, items that are often too heavy, awkward or valuable to move safely by hand. What determines the right approach isn’t just the weight of the load but its shape, the frequency it needs to move, the space available and the level of precision required to position it.
This is where dedicated material handling equipment comes in. Rather than relying on manual lifting or ad hoc solutions, purpose-built handling systems are selected to match the specific load, environment and workflow, reducing manual strain, cutting the risk of injury and speeding up repetitive tasks that would otherwise slow production down.
Below is an overview of the main categories of material handling equipment, along with what sets each one apart and where it tends to be used.
Material Handling Products
Metreel is a leading UK stockist of a wide range of material handling equipment. Here is an overview of some of our top product types to shed light on their use within the wider supply chain.
Not sure which product is right for your needs? Skip to the end of this post to find our contact information where our friendly team will be able to help you.
Gantries
A gantry is a bridge-like structure that is used for heavy applications. Gantries can be used indoors or outdoors, with a famous example of an outdoor gantry being the yellow The Harland and Wolff shipyard cranes in Belfast, which are also known as The Samson & Goliath Cranes.
As well as shipbuilding, gantries are frequently used within the rail and scrap metal industries. This makes gantries incredibly versatile, as they can be capable of lifting some of the heaviest loads in the world, just as they can be found as portable models that can be used in smaller warehouses or workshops.
Hoists, Balancers & Winches
There are some clear differences between a hoist, a balancer and a winch. Not least when it comes to the types of applications they are suited for. However, all three relate to the manual lifting or pulling of loads.
Each can be tailored to the available headroom, whether the site has electricity and the amount of energy consumption required. Therefore, this category of material handling is versatile, especially for smaller or niche operation requirements.
Monorails
Monorails can either be ceiling or floor mounted, depending on the constraints of your building. The advantage of a ceiling mounted monorail is that it makes excellent use of what is normally redundant space overhead, giving the ability for the required tools to drop down and be manoeuvred around a track.
Installed within interior environments such as manufacturing plants, monorails also benefit from requiring minimal maintenance due to their robust construction. This makes monorails ideal for applications that involve repetitive work.
Track Systems
Any number of applications can run on a track. With any type of track system, the key is that the start and end point is fixed. So although the track can be stopped halfway through (i.e with overhead playground equipment), the track isn’t designed to extend beyond the start or end point. This is an element that can be beneficial for both safety as well as practical purposes, depending on the usage type of the track.
Workstation Cranes
Workstation cranes are used for the purpose of moving heavy loads across set distances within a specific workspace. Some of the most common industries that use workstation cranes include manufacturing, aviation, automotive and agriculture.
Essentially, a workstation crane will facilitate the process taking place by moving the material to another part of the area so the next stage can be completed.
Key aspects of a workstation crane are the ease of movement, accurate load positioning and the reduction in worker fatigue.
Workstation Jibs
Comprising two main sections that sit at a right angle, workstation jib cranes are a perfect handling solution for supporting tool balancers, air balancers, hoists, vacuum lifters and welding equipment that are used in a close work area.
Crucially, workstation jib cranes can rotate up to 360° which is where they differ from most other material handling product types. The range of movement allows for maximum flexibility and precision.
How To Choose The Right Equipment
Before deciding on a specific type of material handling equipment, it helps to work through a few key factors. Load weight and shape will often narrow down the options first, since some systems are built for heavy, awkward or irregular loads while others suit lighter, more repetitive movements. Available space matters just as much: overhead solutions like monorails and track systems make use of otherwise redundant ceiling space, while freestanding options like gantries suit sites without the structural capacity to support an overhead load.
How often the equipment will be used, and over what distance, also shapes the decision. A workstation crane covering a fixed area within a single workspace needs a different setup to a track system moving loads between multiple points on a site. Budget and installation complexity are worth factoring in early too, since some systems require more substantial groundwork or building modifications than others.
If you’re not sure which category fits your operation, our team can talk through the specifics of your site and application.
Powerfeed
Alongside physically moving materials, many handling systems also need to move power, data or fluids safely alongside them, particularly where equipment travels along a track or crane runway. This is where powerfeed solutions come in, protecting and managing cables, hoses and conductors as machinery moves.
Steel drag chains guide and protect cables and pneumatic lines through the full range of a machine’s movement, preventing tangling, snagging and premature wear. Festoon systems offer a similar function for cranes and gantries running along a fixed track, suspending cables from trolleys that move with the equipment. For continuous power delivery without trailing cables, conductor systems and collector columns provide power along a rail as equipment travels, while reeling drums wind and unwind cable automatically to keep it under control.
Fall Protection
Material handling doesn’t stop at moving loads safely, it also covers protecting the people working around that equipment, particularly at height. Fall protection systems are designed to prevent falls or arrest them safely if they occur, and the right setup depends on the type of work being carried out and how much freedom of movement is needed.
Fall arrest systems are used where a fall is possible but the work requires reach or movement, stopping a fall safely once it happens. Fall restraint systems take a different approach, physically preventing a worker from reaching an edge or fall hazard in the first place. For access to height itself, abseil systems and vertical access ladders provide controlled ways to reach and work at elevated positions safely.
Material Handling FAQs
What’s The Difference Between A Hoist And A Crane?
A hoist is the lifting mechanism itself, used to raise and lower a load. A crane is the wider structure, such as a gantry or workstation crane, that the hoist is mounted to, giving it the ability to also move the load horizontally.
Do I Need A Track System Or A Monorail?
Both run overhead, but a monorail is typically a single fixed line best suited to repetitive point-to-point movement, while track systems can support more varied layouts, including branching paths, depending on the application.
What’s The Difference Between Fall Arrest And Fall Restraint?
Fall restraint stops a worker from reaching a fall hazard at all, while fall arrest allows movement closer to the edge but safely stops a fall if one occurs.
How Do I Know if I Need A Drag Chain Or A Festoon System?
Drag chains suit equipment that moves through a full range of motion, such as machine tools, while festoon systems are generally used for cranes and gantries travelling along a fixed track.
Material Handling UK – Shop Metreel Material Handling Equipment
Interested in purchasing some material handling equipment? Or perhaps you’re in search of some further information on how to make your business operations safer and more efficient? You’re in the right place! Here at Metreel, material handling is what we do as one of the UK’s leading stockists for a wide range of products and equipment.
Be sure to check out our online store, where you can find further details of each of our products which have been brought to you by partnering with some of the best names in the industry.
If you would like to find out more about our material handling equipment, or if you’re interested in any other of the services we provide, please give us a call on 0115 932 7010, or drop us an email.
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