THE RISE & RISE OF...

There are few companies in the entertainment industry who can boast 150 years of experience. Founded in Lille in 1858, Verlinde is one such manufacturer. Their century-and-a-half of lifting and lowering has made them one of Europe’s leading electric chain hoist maker for the entertainment industry.

Acquired in 1993 by the Finnish Konecranes group, Verlinde’s ongoing expansion has enabled them to produce a comprehensive range of lifting equipment; industrial needs are met with standard and customized hoists for capacities of up to several hundred tons while those of the entertainment industry with simple single speed standard hoists through to computer controlled variable speed solutions. Running counter to relocation trends, Verlinde vigorously reshaped its Vernouillet (Eure et Loir) facility which is now one of the group’s major industrial plants. Its production capacity is set to double by 2010.

Léon Verlinde set up a hardware unit in Lille town centre in 1858 christening it La Truelle d’Or (the golden trowel). The workshop turned out pulleys, couplings and shafts for the region’s numerous textile trades to transmit the power produced by steam engines. In 1872, Auguste Verlinde thought up, fashioned and patented a worm drive hoist - so laying the foundation stone of Verlinde’s commitment to material handling engineering. The hoist was an immediate overwhelming success. The production of goods lifts then followed suit and numerous spinning mills of the region, located in towns for labour reasons and built high to compensate for lack of space, were soon equipped. For almost a century the company continued to grow organically  in France before starting expansion abroad in the sixties. Maintaining the same impetus, Verlinde set up operations in three or four new nations every year. The Europoint industrial franchise network, the first national network of travelling crane manufacturers, was set up in France in 1993 and very quickly spread its reach to the Benelux countries. Verlinde’s history is copiously marked by patents and innovations. Verlinde presently provides a living for almost 200 excluding the local subcontractor network.

The company markets its products in more than 55 countries.Its range of lifting equipment and solutions includes: electric and manual hoists, winches, trolleys and accessories, hollow rail bracket and travelling cranes, heavy travelling crane components, electronic products, flame retarding equipment, customized machines for the entertainment, rail, nuclear, aerospace and car industries, and for application in specific conditions, e.g.: explosive environments.

Verlinde has filed more than 50 patents across its history and marketed many lifting-related innovations. Examples include the disk brake, the hydraulic bridge and articulated bridge - both now international industry standards. As early as 1975, Verlinde introduced the first reverse hoists to the entertainments industry market - the Litachain L104 . It was created specifically for the entertainment industry, designed to meet the requirements of concert touring and theatres. The product’s feature-set freed up installers and designers to be far more creative with their lighting movement solutions.

Research and development remains a high priority aiming at very best equipment for improved performance and safety. The double brake for the entertainment industry, providing ten times the rated load, is a good example. Another example, this time for industry, is the use of short drums of large diameter in the Eurobloc VT range whose mounting and rotation system has been patented.

“When we start some new activity like entertainment industry, the idea is to offer the complete package – a turn key solution,” says Verlinde’s Jean-Yves Beaussart. “In the case of Stagemaker we are the only hoist manufacturer in the world who can supply the complete product family with: a large range of rigging motors; all the connection cables; a large range of controllers (from standard basic solution for 4 channels control in a peli-case up to 64 channel PC control); a complete range of flight cases for motors or controllers; and additional products like hand chain blocks specially dedicated for entertainment industry, manual and electric winches, manual and electric trolleys, load cells,...” He trails off. After a century and a half, the list is extensive.

Longevity is, of course, no guarantee of success, but as their substantial involvement in the recent Beijing Olympics proves, Verlinde remain at the top of their game.