Outrigger test load:
1 tonne
UHMW PE plastic mat deflection:
102mm (52kg mat, rated by its manufacturer to 54 tonnes)
ALIMATS aluminium mat deflection:
2mm (38kg mat)
Mobile Crane Outrigger Mats
ALIMATS aluminium mats spread mobile crane outrigger loads through stiffness rather than compressive strength alone, backed by purpose designed bending test data and a proven 18 hour nationwide turnaround.
For mobile crane outriggers, ALIMATS® aluminium mats are built to spread point loads through stiffness, not just compressive strength. Configurations run from 1.346 square metres up to 8.073 square metres with safe working loads up to 80 tonnes, verified independently with a Fellow of the Institution of Structural Engineers, and delivered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on our own fleet.
- Safe working load
- Up to 80 tonnes, depending on configuration
- Crane capacity supported
- Comfortably under cranes up to 150 tonnes
- Configuration range
- 1.346m² up to 8.073m²
- Module weight range
- 13kg (Mini) up to 48kg (Long / Extra Long)
- Delivery
- 24/7 nationwide, own FORS Bronze fleet
- Proven turnaround
- 7.06m² configuration: ordered 2.50pm, on site 8.02am next day, Grangemouth (18 hours)
- Trusted by
- Over 80% of the UK's top twenty Tier 1 contractors
Why outrigger loads need stiffness, not just strength
Mobile crane outriggers concentrate a huge point load into a small footprint of ground. The material sitting under that outrigger does not just need to resist crushing, it needs to spread the load sideways before the ground ever feels the full force of it. That is a question of stiffness, and it is the reason two mats with similar headline strength ratings can behave completely differently under the same crane.
We built a purpose designed bending test rig to check this directly, using a three point load through a 500mm by 500mm steel plate to simulate a crane outrigger. The results below show why a headline compressive strength rating can be misleading on its own.
| Outrigger test load | UHMW PE plastic mat deflection | ALIMATS aluminium mat deflection |
|---|---|---|
1 tonne | 102mm (52kg mat, rated by its manufacturer to 54 tonnes) | 2mm (38kg mat) |
2.25 tonnes | 328mm (same mat) | 3mm (same mat) |
3.5 tonnes | 161mm (doubled up mat, 100mm overall depth) | 8mm (single 60mm mat) |
Outrigger test load:
2.25 tonnes
UHMW PE plastic mat deflection:
328mm (same mat)
ALIMATS aluminium mat deflection:
3mm (same mat)
Outrigger test load:
3.5 tonnes
UHMW PE plastic mat deflection:
161mm (doubled up mat, 100mm overall depth)
ALIMATS aluminium mat deflection:
8mm (single 60mm mat)
The explanation sits in two different material hierarchies. For compressive strength alone, the order runs steel, aluminium, nylon, polyethylene, timber. For stiffness, the property that actually spreads load rather than letting it triangulate straight down to the ground, the order is steel, aluminium, timber, nylon, polyethylene. A plastic mat can carry a genuinely high compressive rating and still deflect badly under an outrigger, and a rigid test rig sitting on a compressible surface such as Ethafoam can produce misleadingly high safe working load claims. This distinction is set out in the industry design guide Construction Ground Condition for Plant, October 2014.
How ALIMATS spreads the load
ALIMATS® is Brilliant Ideas' patented, modular aluminium crane mat system, manufactured from certified recycled extruded aluminium, alloy 6005A, with a unique interlocking design. Modules run from the 0.58m by 0.58m Mini at 13kg through to the 3480mm by 290mm Extra Long at 48kg, so a configuration can be built to suit the actual outrigger footprint rather than forcing one fixed panel onto every job.
Features & Benefits
Built from real plan sizes
Core configurations run from 1.346 to 8.073 square metres, built from plan sizes including 2.018, 3.028, 4.037, 5.046, 6.055 and 7.064 square metres.
Independently verified
Safe working load reaches up to 80 tonnes depending on configuration, comfortably under cranes up to 150 tonnes. Every figure is checked with a Fellow of the Institution of Structural Engineers.
Interlocks without heavy plant
The modular system locks together by hand, and every mat coming back from hire is fully inspected, cleaned and quality checked before it goes out to the next job.
Half Loader innovation
Our newest innovation moves load away from the mat centre and spreads it across two locations, reducing ground pressure under high outrigger loads.
Proven on site: Ainscough and Grangemouth
Ainscough Crane Hire ordered a 7.06 square metre ALIMATS configuration at 2.50pm and had it on site at Grangemouth Refinery by 8.02am the next morning, all within 18 hours.
Ainscough Crane Hire
“
When we needed a quick turnaround on mats, the Brilliant Ideas team delivered. The 7.06m² mat configurations we hired were ordered at 2.50pm and arrived on site in Grangemouth at 8.02am – all within 18 hours. The mats are handleable and easier and quicker to set-up than steel mats, which are heavy.
Brilliant Ideas is trusted by over 80 per cent of the UK's top twenty Tier 1 contractors, and ALIMATS is used by crane hire operators across the country including King Lifting, Sparrow, Bronzeshield and Marsh Plant, among others. The same modular system has also gone to work on major UK infrastructure and construction programmes including HS2, Hinkley Point C, Heathrow Airport, Gatwick Airport, Google's King's Cross headquarters, Euston Station, London Bridge, Manchester's Co-op Live Arena, and major Scottish wind farm developments.
Crane mats versus crane pads for outrigger loads
Crane pads and crane mats solve different problems. Pads are for smaller outrigger loads, up to around 1.0 square metre, supplied as single round or square units; Brilliant Ideas only recommends certified Nylacast Big Foot pads, made from certified Nylanite, in that category, not standard HDPE.
Once an outrigger footprint exceeds around 1.0 square metre, a mat configuration is the right call, and an ALIMATS configuration is very often paired with a Nylacast pad on top of it to optimise load transfer and protect the mat surface. Getting that pairing right is usually what a temporary works engineer wants to see on the calculation before mats go on site.
Hire, purchase and nationwide delivery
ALIMATS mats are available for single day, weekly or long term hire, or for outright purchase, and can be painted in corporate colours on request. Whichever route suits the programme, the same certified modular system is behind it.
Features & Benefits
24/7 nationwide
Delivery runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, nationwide, on Brilliant Ideas' own FORS Bronze fleet of vans under 3.5 tonnes.
Our own drivers
Driven by our own drivers, all CSCS card holders and most CPCS certified, with fully automated proof of delivery.
Built for time pressure
The Grangemouth turnaround shows what that fleet can do under real time pressure, and it's the same delivery model behind every configuration we send out.
Beyond the UK
ALIMATS is already at work across Australia and the Middle East, and enquiries for ALIMATS, Hole Covers and engineered levelling shims have come in from Brazil, Angola, Australia, Qatar, Egypt, Argentina, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, Germany, France, Spain and Belgium. The most recent shipments went to a global offshore oil and gas services company in Qatar and an integrated logistics company serving renewables and oil and gas in Angola.
Frequently asked questions
What safe working load can ALIMATS crane mats take under a mobile crane outrigger?
Safe working load reaches up to 80 tonnes depending on the configuration chosen, and ALIMATS sit comfortably under cranes up to 150 tonnes, with the specific safe working load varying by configuration. Every figure is independently verified with a Fellow of the Institution of Structural Engineers.
How fast can ALIMATS mats reach site for a mobile crane job?
Delivery runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, nationwide, on our own FORS Bronze fleet. Ainscough Crane Hire ordered a 7.06 square metre configuration at 2.50pm and had it on site at Grangemouth Refinery by 8.02am the next morning, a turnaround of 18 hours.
What is the difference between a crane mat and a crane pad?
Crane pads are for smaller outrigger loads, up to around 1.0 square metre, supplied as single round or square units, and we only recommend certified Nylacast Big Foot pads in that category. Once the outrigger footprint goes beyond around 1.0 square metre, a crane mat configuration is the correct choice, and the two are often used together for the best load transfer.
Why do aluminium crane mats outperform plastic mats under outrigger loads?
It comes down to stiffness rather than compressive strength alone. In our own bending tests, a UHMW PE plastic mat rated to 54 tonnes deflected 102mm under a 1 tonne load, while an ALIMATS aluminium mat deflected 2mm under the same load. Plastic mats can carry a high compressive rating and still let load triangulate through to the ground instead of spreading it, which is exactly what stiffness is meant to prevent.
Are ALIMATS crane mats available to hire or only to buy?
Both. ALIMATS mats are available for single day, weekly or long term hire, or for outright purchase, and can be painted in corporate colours on request.
Get a price for your outrigger mat configuration
Tell us the outrigger load and footprint you are working to and we will price the right ALIMATS configuration, from a single 1.346 square metre panel up to a full 8.073 square metre spread, for hire or purchase.
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