News

The Benefits of Our Trailer Mounted Winches

Here are Rotrex Winches, we are industry experts, specialising in all trailer mounted winch equipment and supported by a highly skilled and experienced team. Available for both sale and hire, today we’re going to look at some of the benefits of opting for our trailer mounted winches.

Easy to Tow

By having a winch mounted on a trailer, this will enable you to move the winch from site to site, this is particularly good for companies that cover large areas of the country, as you can easily relocate it a from one job to another, with minimal downtime. When time is the key factor, opt for our trailer mounted winches. When you purchase or hire your winch from Rotrex, you can take advantage of our range winches that have a SWL from 1t to 10t, these winches are mounted on a trailer suitable for towing on the UK highway.

Less Equipment

By using a trailer mounted winch, there is little requirement for the use of a crane or forklift, to position the winch.  Trailer winches can be easily manoeuvred into position by the main towing vehicle, for use.  This again reduces down time, saving you money.

Variety of Models

At Rotrex Winches, we can supply a variety of options, including twin bull-wheel, drum and capstan, with our range of twin bull-wheel winches operated on either petrol or diesel.  These models we offer can also range from 1 to 40 tonnes, with the most popular being between 2 to 10 tonnes. When it comes to your trailer winches, we provide the worlds leading brands, such as Omac, Volta, Thompson and Grundo-tug.

Related Products

Rotrex don’t just do winches, we also offer our customers an array of winch ancillary products, to go with your hire or purchase.  Examples of what you may require along with your winch include wire rope, cable stockings, swivels, bell-mouths, cable lubricant, cable rollers, cable jacks, drum rollers frames, duct rods, anchor chains, we also can supply cable drum trailers, cable pushers and blowers.

Certification

When operating equipment like winches, it is of the utmost importance to consider all health and safety elements. With this consideration comes the certification, which we provide with all our equipment. Our certification gives our customers complete peace of mind that your hire or purchase is safe to operate, reliable and fit for purpose.

Contact Us

In order to get the ball rolling with your winch hire or purchase, please complete our customer enquiry form online. For more information, you can also send us an email to sales@rotrexwinches.co.uk, or speak to a member of the team directly by calling us on 01773 603997. A member of our dedicated team will be pleased to help you with any questions you may have for us.

Read more

All About Our Winch Hire Equipment

When you’re working with winches & winch hire equipment, it’s likely you’re also going to need some ancillary equipment, wherever and whatever you are pulling or lifting. The term ancillary equipment refers to any kind of accessories, machines, or technical equipment that are used with the main items of equipment in order to create a complete system. Some of our range at Rotrex Winches includes air compressors, additional hose bundles, vertical & horizontal deck sheaves, snatchblocks, winch constant tension and rendering facility, winch rope monitoring, hydraulic power units, secondary base frames and grillages, and rope spooling with back tension.

Hose Bundles

At Rotrex Winches, we provide hose bundles for both air and hydraulic applications. Our air hose bundles are supplied as standard in 15 metre sections, whilst our hydraulic hose bundles are supplied in 5 metre sections. Whatever hose length you require, you can achieve this by securely connecting multiple lengths together. One benefit is that if a hose gets damaged then the faulty section can be removed or replaced rather than having to replace the full length, thus reducing cost and downtime. All hoses are tested to 150% of their working pressure rating prior to mobilisation to ensure that they are safe for use.

The Pull of the Winch

Usually the required winch line-pull will be pre-set during final factory acceptance testing but can also be adjusted by the operator should a different setting be required. Rotrex Winches can provide winches with constant tension and rendering modes for those times when normal winch hoisting and lowering is not achievable. It’s also important and beneficial to monitor the pull of the winch rope. By monitoring the winch line-pull, you can be sure that the winch is operated within any project line-pull restrictions. In most cases, it is possible to provide data recording to show the winch performance throughout the winching operation.

Rope Spooling

We are able to supply and spool winch wire ropes at affordable prices. It is very important to spool any winch wire rope correctly to avoid damage to the rope during use. Prior to a load being applied to a rope, it is vital that the rope is installed with enough back tension to stop the underlying rope layers from being crushed, and in addition, the top working layer from diving through those rope layers. Our in-house wire rope spooling technology prevents this from happening and guarantees correct wire rope spooling every time.

Hydraulic Power Units

We also supply hydraulic power units (HPU’s), which are self-contained and easily transportable. Rotrex have an extensive range with different variations, depending on worksite requirements. Our HPU’s include safe area diesel driven or electric driven, along with Zone 2 compliant options. All our HPU’s can be supplied as part of a winch package or even on a standalone basis for supplying hydraulic power to non-Rotrex equipment.

Secondary Base Frames and Grillages

Lastly, we can supply secondary base frames with our base-mounted winches. These are supplied with deck weldable anchor plates as standard. Additionally, we can design and manufacture custom base frames or grillages to fully integrate our winches into any deck or floor plan.

Contact Us

If you would like more information about our ancillary equipment for use with winches, please complete our enquiry form, or email us at sales@rotrexwinches.co.uk. On our contact page you will also find further details of our branches London, Derby, Glasgow and Aberdeen.

Read more

Our Winch Hire

In our modern connected world, we will rarely walk a few steps in urban areas without crossing the path of underground cabling.  But we hardly ever notice the extensive infrastructure that surrounds us, because the machinery and techniques used to install and maintain such cabling are designed to intrude as little as possible on the host environment.  Rotrex Winches are an established, professional winch hire company with over forty years experience in a vast range of construction and infrastructure industries.  For cable pulling equipment hire, we are your one-call solution for a successful project.

Why Hire Winches?

Some firms maintain an inventory of winching equipment, and in many cases, this makes sense: if you are using the equipment day-in and day-out, it’s often easier to own your own plant.  Here at Rotrex, we have an extensive catalogue of plant and ancillaries for hire and sale.  We also design and manufacture winching systems for customers who have special requirements.

For most utility and some civil engineering companies, winching operations are part of a daily routine.  Winches and associated plant is too expensive to have locked up at a depot for weeks at a time, especially as it requires frequent maintenance and must be regularly inspected for damage or defects.  Rotrex can eradicate these concerns by offering nationwide coverage all year round.  We also have winch engineers who are familiar with all types of winch equipment, as well as safe operation techniques and current health and safety procedures, to make your life easier.

Cable Drum Trailer Hire

Plant hire can save you money, and a lot of other headaches.  Rotrex also offer an extensive range of cable drum trailers and other ancillary equipment.  With all the installation equipment you need readily available, all you need to do on the morning of the job is show up with your team and the installation materials.  We will make sure everything else is in place, with all the equipment checked and ready to go.  When you see how easy it can be, plant hire really does start to make sense.

Winch Hire UK

Our winch hire service is available throughout the UK and beyond, the majority of our equipment can be made available in most parts of the world.  This includes all peripherals such as powered reelers, cable pushers and blowers, or any other related plant hire equipment, just call us for a quote.  We even have a low ground pressure Softrak ATV’s for hire, in case the site is off the beaten track or in a sensitive environment.  This versatile vehicle makes light work of most terrains, whilst hardly leaving a trace.

Finding the Right Winch for Hire

Not sure which winch is required for your application? Contact our expert team for detailed advice and support. Winch hire has never been so simple.

Read more

Rotrex Group eyes growth with procurement of Europe’s largest capacity trailer winch

The Rotrex Group, which boasts the largest range of trailer winches in the UK and is one of the leading lifting firms in the whole of Europe, has invested almost a quarter of million pounds in a brand new state of the art 60-tonne capacity trailer winch that it believes will secure a new era in its continued growth.

Against the backdrop of the current pandemic, subsequent economic turmoil, and the ongoing uncertainty of Brexit, the Alfreton based business is confident the latest acquisition will be in high demand both here in the UK and across continental Europe. Rotrex has already secured a major contract for the equipment at a huge project in Norway, starting in early 2021.

The new winch is called ‘MAGNI’ which is the Norse God of Strength. It has been manufactured in Italy to Rotrex’s exact specifications, including state-of-the-art remote control and Wi-Fi technologies. It is now the largest capacity trailer winch currently available in Europe. It also has large rope storage facilities allowing pulls of up to 2,400m which is more than double that of their current 40-tonne winch.

Don Wilkinson – European Sales Manager at the Rotrex Group – said: “The investment is a real game-changer for Rotrex and our international customers. On top of the additional pulling capacity needed for large projects, the winch is fitted with HMPE fibre rope making handling a lot easier due to its lighter weight. It also ensures pipework and ducts are not damaged during pulls”.,

The Norwegian contract will also be supported on site by one of Rotrex’s mobile engineers which Don sees as crucial for such projects adding, “Our clients value this personal commitment from us. Our team of mobile engineers are currently working with clients across Europe on numerous hire set ups, pulls, as well on-site testing, refurbishment works, servicing and training. It’s not just rental, we offer a full service”

Although the winch will be first used in Norway on a water utilities contract for re-lining pipes, its design makes it versatile so it can be used on many different applications such as long cable pulls and supporting major tunneling projects.

Rotrex is therefore confident this new acquisition will open up a host of new markets that demand this kind of niche pulling capacity and will be an exciting step-change helping then to grow, secure jobs and further investment both domestically and internationally.

Read more

Rotrex Group set to significantly expand its fibre rope capability over next two years

The Rotrex Group, which is one of the leading winch specialists in Europe, is looking to heavily invest in its fibre rope capabilities over the next couple of years as customer demand changes.

The investment means it will grow its overall rope capacity by 40% and be able to offer an equal choice of steel or fibre rope to meet the demands of the market as it recovers following the pandemic.

Rotrex’s decision to ramp up its use of fibre ropes, which are made of HMPE-fibres (highly modular polyethylene), follows a large upturn in enquiries from clients across various sectors. Core benefits which include potentially higher load strengths; better buoyancy; significant weight reduction; easier handling and that it can be used for both on- and off-shore projects are being seen as the main drivers of customer demand.

However, Rotrex still see a role for steel rope and is therefore committed to maintaining this option to ensure customers have a choice and that its team of experts can recommend the most appropriate material for each individual project.

Rotrex’s most recent and significant investment used Dyneema HMPE fibre ropes on its new ‘Magni’ winch. It was manufactured by Omac in Italy to Rotrex’s exact specifications, including state-of-the-art remote control and Wi-Fi technologies. It is now the largest capacity trailer winch currently available in Europe and offers an additional 20-tonne pulling capacity when compared to the firm’s previous largest model. It also has larger rope storage facilities allowing pulls of up to 2,400m which is more than double that of a traditional 40-tonne winch.

Rotrex is currently working on two major windfarm projects in Taiwan using fibre ropes. The first is on four banks of six wind turbines and then on eight banks of seven wind turbines. The winch with the fibre ropes will be used for pulling in cable from the offshore substations to land.

Don Wilkinson – European Sales Manager at the Rotrex Group – said: “As a business we are always looking to innovate and stay ahead of our clients’ demands. Steel ropes have been the principal option for years but the technology around fibre ropes has intensified. This means more and more people are now aware of – and appreciate – the performance benefits they deliver. However, our commitment to steel ropes will remain strong so that will be able to specify the right product every time.”

Read more