Aluminium alloy
Also called Aluminium crane mat material
The family of lightweight, corrosion-resistant metal alloys — aluminium combined with elements such as magnesium, silicon or zinc — used to manufacture structural products including crane mats. Aluminium alloys give a high strength-to-weight ratio compared with steel, so a mat with equivalent load-carrying capacity is significantly lighter to handle.
From our specifications
What the strength-to-weight ratio buys is measurable in our own range. The 25 ALIMATS® configurations weigh 50 kg to 750 kg per mat and 200 kg to 3,000 kg per set of four, while carrying 38 t to 80 t safe working load over 1.346 m² to 8.074 m² — and the smaller configurations sit at the end of that range where a set can be handled without lifting plant.
Source: alimat_configurations — the 25 published ALIMATS® configurations
Where it matters on site
Handling weight is a programme cost, not a comfort. A mat set that needs a telehandler to place needs the telehandler to be on site, available and able to reach the set-up position — which on a city-centre or internal job is often the constraint that decides the method. Corrosion resistance matters over the life of a hire fleet rather than on the day: aluminium does not rot, does not absorb water and does not change capacity with moisture content the way timber does.