Durham Lifting gives Pallion revival a lift

A North East lifting specialist is helping breathe new life into Sunderland’s industrial heritage as operations return to Pallion Shipyard.

Durham Lifting has worked with the team at Pallion to bring two existing cranes within the historic shipyard building back into operation following an extended period of downtime.

Its service division assessed the infrastructure before carrying out servicing, maintenance and remedial work to ensure the cranes were safe, compliant and capable of supporting renewed industrial activity.

The company has also supplied lifting equipment for handling pipes, beams and other materials as operations at the site continue to develop.

Drawing on more than 25 years of industry experience, Durham Lifting says the project highlights how specialist servicing and engineering expertise can help businesses return existing infrastructure to productive use.

Rather than replacing equipment, its team can assess what is already in place, identify maintenance and remedial requirements and provide ongoing technical support.

Pallion has a long association with shipbuilding and heavy engineering, with thousands of people once employed across the wider site.

For Durham Lifting director Amanda Gardiner, the project also carries personal significance, with Pallion the location of the first site visit of her working career.

Returning decades later with Durham Lifting playing a role in reviving the site’s lifting infrastructure has brought that connection full circle.

With cranes operating and materials moving through the building once again, the project is helping return the facility to the type of heavy industrial use for which it was originally built.

Amanda said: “This was actually the first site visit I ever came on during my working career.

“My dad brought me here and I remember walking into the building when it was full of men working.

“To come back now and see it operational again is fantastic.

“A building of this size and structure was built for industry, and seeing the cranes working and activity coming back into it is something special.”

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