WH SCOTT
Crane Grabs for Overhead Gantry Cranes
Rope, motor and hydraulic grabs in clamshell, orange peel, dredging and timber log designs — specified, supplied, spared and repaired in the UK and Ireland.
UK Sales Agent and Repair Centre for MRS Grabs
MRS-Greifer GmbH has designed and built crane and excavator grabs at Helmstadt in Germany since 1977, when the business grew out of the crane manufacturer Ridinger of Mannheim. Every grab is still made at that single plant.
WH Scott is MRS’s UK sales agent and an MRS repair and maintenance centre — one point of contact for grab selection, new grab supply, spare parts and repair, carried out on your site or in our workshops rather than routed back to Germany. Our engineers work from depots across the UK and Ireland.
Rope, Motor and Hydraulic Grabs
- Rope (mechanical) grabs — for cranes with two hoisting drums, one for the suspension rope and one for the closing rope. The grab hangs on the suspension rope and the shells are worked by the closing ropes through an integrated pulley block, with closing force coming from dead weight and the reeving of the block. Single-line, two-rope and four-rope arrangements are available.
- Motor grabs (electrohydraulic) — for cranes with one or two suspension rope drums. The grab carries its own power pack of electric motor, hydraulic pump and hydraulic components, and takes power from the crane through an electrical lead, which can also carry control lines. Closing force comes from the hydraulic drive rather than dead weight.
- Hydraulic grabs — for excavators and material handlers, coupled through a quick-release attachment and run from the machine’s own hydraulic supply.
Clamshell, Orange Peel, Dredging and Timber Log Designs
Shell design follows the material:
- Clamshell — two shells for dense, free-flowing bulk such as sand, gravel, aggregate and grain
- Orange peel — multiple tines for mixed and bulky material, scrap and waste
- Dredging — for wet and underwater extraction of sand and gravel, the work MRS originally built its reputation on
- Timber log — for round timber and logs at sawmills, timber yards and ports
Volumes start at around 0.1 m³, and where no standard design suits the material or the machine, MRS build special grabs to order, drawing on a long back catalogue of comparable duties.
Lifting Solutions
Part of a complete lifting range
This is one of the complete lifting solutions delivered by WH Scott across the UK and Ireland — from radio remotes, hoists and crane components to fully bespoke crane systems. Explore the full range to find the right fit for your operation.
What We Need to Quote a Grab
- The material — bulk density, moisture content and maximum lump size
- The crane or machine — type, rated capacity, number of rope drums and rope arrangement
- Grab volume required and cycles per hour
- Available headroom, and for motor grabs the electrical supply and control route down to the grab
- Site conditions — temperature, dust and any hazardous area classification
- Make, model and serial number of any existing grab being replaced
Grab dead weight comes off the crane’s rated capacity, so grab and crane are sized together: chosen on volume alone, a grab can leave a crane unable to lift a full load of dense material. We size against the heaviest material on site.
Spares, Repair and Reconditioning
As an MRS repair and maintenance centre we repair grabs as well as sell them, covering the usual wear items — shells and cutting edges, bearings, bushes and pins, cylinders, hoses and power pack components — on your site or in our workshops, planned around your shutdown windows. MRS also repair other manufacturers’ grabs, so a non-MRS grab does not have to be replaced to be supported. Load testing and certification on completion where needed.
Materials and Industries
MRS grabs handle sand, gravel and aggregate, coal and biomass fuel, scrap and mixed waste, sludge, slag, grain and round timber — in ports, dredging and extraction, foundries, sawmills, treatment works and recycling sites. Tell us the material and we will tell you which drive and shell combination suits it.
Marking, Certification and Thorough Examination
A new grab is supplied as a lifting accessory: CE or UKCA marked, with a declaration of conformity, its working load limit and dead weight documented, and the manufacturer’s instructions. Grabs sit outside BS EN 13155, the standard for non-fixed load lifting attachments, which expressly excludes grabs and grab buckets — strength is verified instead against the EN 13001 crane design series and the manufacturer’s own design rules.
In service, a grab is normally treated as a lifting accessory rather than part of the crane. In Great Britain, LOLER 1998 sets thorough examination at least every six months for accessories, against at least 12 months for the crane — see HSE guidance INDG422. In Ireland the duties sit under the General Application Regulations 2007 (S.I. No. 299 of 2007), where Regulation 52 and Schedule 1 set the same intervals, reported on Form GA1. We can examine and certify the grab on the same visit as the crane.
Get in Touch
Tell Us About Your Project
Whether you need a single piece of equipment or a fully engineered lifting system, our specialists can help. Tell us your load, environment and compliance requirements — we’ll do the rest.