PLM Cranes

What PLM Cranes does

PLM Cranes B.V. is a privately-held Dutch heavy industrial crane manufacturer founded in 1954 by Jan Pulleman, headquartered in Heijningen, the Netherlands on a 30,000 m2 site with a private harbor capable of lifting over 100 tons. The company operates as part of the PLM Group, which also includes PLM Barges (floating marine solutions) and PLM Specials (custom constructions), serving customers worldwide across at least five primary verticals: dredging, offshore/marine, heavy lift, drop ball/slag demolition, and port operations. Its business model is project-based, direct-to-customer engineering and manufacturing, with no public pricing and all units custom-designed from scratch.

The company designs and manufactures four core product lines — Grab Cranes (2–50 tons, up to 1,500 tons/hour), Hoist Cranes (2–400 tons), Marine Cranes (1–25 tons), and Drop Ball Cranes (10–30 tons) — offered across four drive technologies (Diesel-Hydraulic, Electric-Hydraulic, Diesel-Electric, and Fully Electric) and multiple undercarriage configurations (pedestal, gantry, rail, rubber tyres, crawler). Each crane is custom-engineered for specific duty cycles and harsh environments, with in-house welding certified up to S770QL steel and sector-specific certifications including ABS and DNV. The product portfolio also includes larger flagship models such as the PLM 15000E (680t capacity, 1000 kW fully electric) and the PLM 6400 (400t at 16m, ABS-certified). PLM also generates recurring revenue through 24/7 worldwide aftermarket services including technical support, revision, maintenance, repair, commissioning, spare parts, welding, sandblasting, and painting.

GTM is sales-led and direct: each sale is a multi-year, quote-based custom engineering project with worldwide delivery. Distribution is single-channel — direct field sales — with no public marketing presence beyond the company website and social media channels (Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube). The company is family-owned and remains under the Pulleman family's control, with no disclosed external investors, private equity, or venture capital backing.

Name

PLM Cranes

Legal name

PLM Cranes B.V.

Website

https://plmcranes.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1954

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

PLM Cranes B.V. is a Dutch family-owned manufacturer of custom heavy-duty industrial cranes (grab, hoist, marine, drop ball) for worldwide customers in dredging, offshore, heavy lift, and slag demolition, with in-house engineering, manufacturing, and 24/7 aftermarket services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Cranes and Heavy Lifting Equipment

NAICS

Material Handling Equipment Manufacturing (33392), Agriculture, Construction, and Mining Machinery Manufacturing (3331)

SIC

Construction, Mining & Materials Handling Machinery & Equip (3530), Construction Machinery & Equip (3531)

akta.pro primary industry

Cranes, Hoists & Overhead Material Handling (Industrial) (IMAHABAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Mobile & Crawler Cranes (IMAHAJAA), Heavy Lifting & Material Handling Infrastructure (Goliath Cranes, Jib Cranes, Hoists) (IMAJALAD), Cranes, Hoists & Rigging Equipment MRO (Mobile/Tower Cranes, Winches) (TLAKAHAE)

Keywords

• Heavy duty cranes
• Grab cranes
• Marine cranes
• Hoist cranes
• Drop ball cranes

Headquarters

HQ city

Heijningen

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Custom Crane Manufacturing: PLM designs and manufactures custom cranes for worldwide application. Products include grab cranes, hoist cranes, marine cranes, and drop ball cranes. All designs are built according to customer requirements with full customization from scratch.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

PLM Cranes designs and manufactures custom-built heavy duty cycle cranes for worldwide industrial application. The product portfolio includes grab cranes (2–50 tons), hoist cranes (2–400 tons), marine cranes (1–25 tons), and drop ball cranes (10–30 tons), each engineered from scratch to customer requirements. The company also delivers worldwide after-sales services including technical support, revision, maintenance, repair, commissioning and testing, spare parts, welding, sandblasting, and painting.

Product overview

PLM Cranes B.V. is a Dutch crane manufacturer offering a portfolio of heavy duty cycle cranes for worldwide applications. The core product line includes four main crane types: Grab Cranes (2-50 tons for dredging, bulk handling, stevedoring), Hoist Cranes (2-400 tons for heavy lifting), Marine Cranes (1-25 tons for offshore applications), and Drop Ball Cranes (10-30 tons for slag demolition). Each crane is custom-built with various drive configurations (Diesel-Hydraulic, Electric-Hydraulic, Diesel-Electric, and Fully Electric) and undercarriage options (Pedestal, Gantry, Rail, Rubber tyres, Crawler). The company also provides comprehensive after-market services including technical support, revision, maintenance, repair, commissioning/testing, spare parts, welding, sandblasting, and painting. Founded in 1954, PLM serves global customers from its facilities in the Netherlands near Rotterdam.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Grab Cranes Heavy duty cycle grab cranes for efficient handling of large volumes of materials in dredging, bulk handling, and stevedoring applications. Lifting capacity ranges from 2 to 50 tons with throughput up to 1,500 tons per hour. Available with pedestal, gantry, rail, rubber tyres, or crawler undercarriages. Designed for industrial customers in the dredging and bulk material handling sectors.
• Hoist Cranes Heavy lift hoist cranes for lifting small and large loads with outstanding lifting capacities, heights, and reaches. Capacity ranges from 2 to 400 tons. Designed for safe, efficient, and precise heavy lift operations including construction applications.
• Marine Cranes Innovative offshore cranes with reliable and robust designs for marine applications. Lifting capacity ranges from 1 to 25 tons with reach of 4 to 25 meters. Available with telescopic or fixed boom, remote controlled operation, and additional manual emergency controls for offshore and marine operators.
• Drop Ball Cranes Rigid construction cranes designed for the drop ball industry to withstand destructive forces of slag demolition operations. Lifting capacity ranges from 10 to 30 tons at all possible ranges, with capability for approximately 2 ball drops per minute. Mounted on crawler undercarriages. For slag demolition and metal processing operators.
• PLM 15000E Heavy Lift Ringer Crane Full electric heavy lift ringer crane capable of lifting up to 680 tons at 22 meters. Operates on land and water. Features 92m max boom length, 520 ton ballast weight, 1400 ton total crane weight, and 1000 kW electric drive. Designed for the heaviest heavy lift operations.
• Crane After-Sales Services Comprehensive worldwide services for PLM cranes including 24/7 technical support, full revision projects (transforming oldtimers into almost new-build competitive machines), complete maintenance wherever the crane is located, repair of any crane construction in difficult environments, commissioning and testing, spare parts delivery worldwide, in-house welding (up to S770QL steel grades), and sandblasting and painting services.
• PLM 827E Fully Electric Crane Fully electric crane designed for loading and unloading ships. Features 34m jib-boom, 8 metric tons capacity, 140 metric tons weight, 300 kW installed capacity, and extremely silent operation with special silent packs.
• PLM 6400 Barge Mounted Heavy Lift Marine Crane Barge mounted heavy lift marine crane with 60m jib-boom, 400 ton at 16m capacity, 583 ton weight, CAT C32 diesel engine 1000 hp. Delivered under ABS (American Bureau of Shipping) approval for marine operations.
• PLM 7023 Heavy Duty Grab Crane Heavy duty grab crane with 70 ton at 23m capacity. Barge mounted with free fall winch configuration.
• PLM DB12 Drop Ball Magnet Crane Crawler mounted drop ball magnet crane with 12 ton at 11m capacity. Features Caterpillar Tier 4 engine with 350 hp installed capacity for slag demolition applications.
• PLM DB12EH Electric-Hydraulic Drop Ball Crane Electric-hydraulic drop ball crane with 12 ton at 11m capacity. Features 21m jib-boom, 75 ton weight, ABB electric engine with 200kW installed capacity for slag demolition applications requiring zero on-site emissions.
• PLM DB23 Crawler Mounted Drop Ball Crane Crawler mounted drop ball crane with 23 ton at 15.5m capacity. Features approximately 2 balls per minute drop rate and bulletproof glass for operator protection in slag demolition environments.
• PLM 1620 Pedestal Mounted Grab Crane Pedestal mounted grab digging and hoisting crane. 16 ton at 20m in grab mode, 25 ton at 16m in hoist mode. 28m jib-boom, 160 tons including pedestal, 450 kW capacity for combined grab and hoist operations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Cranes delivered worldwide for various industrial applications including dredging, marine, and heavy lift operations
• +2 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Terex: US-listed diversified manufacturer of port equipment, material handling, and cranes (Terex Port Solutions) — competes with PLM in port and material handling cranes but offers a much broader equipment portfolio.
• Palfinger: Austrian global leader in loader cranes, hookloaders, and material handling solutions — overlaps with PLM's hydraulic crane offerings but specializes in truck-mounted rather than heavy industrial applications.
• Manitowoc: US manufacturer of crawler cranes, tower cranes, and mobile telescopic cranes — competes with PLM on heavy-lift crawler applications but with a much broader standard product line.
• Konecranes: Finland-based global leader in industrial cranes, port solutions, and hoists with overlapping product range (heavy lift, port cranes) but a far broader portfolio and global service network than PLM.
• Liebherr: Global heavy equipment manufacturer with extensive crawler, mobile, marine, and offshore crane lines — overlapping with PLM's heavy lift and marine crane offerings but operating at significantly larger scale and product breadth.

Direct peers

• HEILA Cranes: Italian manufacturer specialized in marine cranes and deck equipment for offshore, naval, and commercial vessels — closely comparable niche specialization to PLM's marine crane business.
• SENNEBOGEN: German manufacturer of material handling cranes for scrap, port, dredging, and bulk handling — directly comparable to PLM's grab crane line and duty-cycle engineering focus, particularly in the European dredging market.
• MacGregor (Cargotec): Part of Cargotec, MacGregor is a leading supplier of marine cranes, deck machinery, and load-handling solutions for offshore and shipping — directly comparable to PLM's marine crane product line.
• Huisman: Dutch manufacturer of heavy lift cranes, offshore equipment, and marine construction tools — geographically and technically a close peer to PLM, particularly in offshore and shipyard heavy lift applications.

Others

• Damen Shipyards: Dutch shipbuilder that integrates PLM cranes onto its dredging vessels (e.g., PLM 1215 cranes mounted on DAMEN dredging ships), making Damen a key customer and ecosystem partner rather than a direct crane competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/PLMcranes
• Facebookfacebook.com/plmcranesbv
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/plm-cranes

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about PLM Cranes