Port crane with slewing bearing marked in blue

Cranes and lifting devices - Strong products for high loads and tilting moments

Since 1934, Rothe Erde has been manufacturing and supplying rings and bearing solutions for cranes and lifting devices worldwide. Our products are the connecting element between the superstructure and substructure and thus enable the precise and safe rotation of the crane boom.

From mobile harbor cranes to shipyard cranes, offshore cranes or mobile cranes/ truck-mounted cranes - rothe erde® products are reliable components in all applications:

  • High loading capacity, even with high tilting moments

  • Long service life due to precise calculations and accurate design

  • High quality standards in manufacturing and procurement

  • Compliance with all certification criteria

  • Extensive technical support, on- and offshore

As a strong partner for all crane and lifting device manufacturers, we also offer worldwide delivery of suitable spare parts and other services. Rothe Erde also manufactures components for deck cranes, revolving tower cranes, heavy duty / special cranes, railway cranes, rotating crossbars/ container spreaders, forest cranes, truck loading cranes, lifting platforms, portal cranes and pulleys.

Our product solutions in cranes and lifting devices

a four-point bearing infront of a white backround
Four-point bearings
double-row four-point bearing infront of a white backround
Double-row four-point bearings
a three-row cylindrical roller bearing infront of a white backround
Three-row cylindrical roller bearings
A double-row ball bearing infront of a white backround
Double-row ball bearings
a four-row cylindrical roller bearing infront of a white backround
Four-row cylindrical roller bearings
a raw ring infront of a white backround
Raw rings
a machined ring infront of a white backround
Machined rings
a profile bearing infront of a white backround
Profile bearings
A segmented bearing infront of a white backround
Segmented bearings
a crross roller bearing infront of a white backround
Cross roller bearings
A turntable infront of a white backround
Turntables

Your benefits at a glance:

  • Market and technology leader

    We are able to manufacture reliable products that are precisely tailored to your needs and can withstand high loads and tilting moments.

  • Decades of experience

    Our know-how and expertise enables us to design and manufacture the right solution for your application.

  • Professional final inspection

    All relevant acceptance requirements are taken into account. We fully support our customers during this process.

  • Broad range of services

    From the design phase to after-sales service - we provide a holistic support, including commissioning.

Market and technology leader

We are able to manufacture reliable products that are precisely tailored to your needs and can withstand high loads and tilting moments.

Decades of experience

Our know-how and expertise enables us to design and manufacture the right solution for your application.

Professional final inspection

All relevant acceptance requirements are taken into account. We fully support our customers during this process.

Broad range of services

From the design phase to after-sales service - we provide a holistic support, including commissioning.

Why you should implement your project with Rothe Erde

All over the world, cranes and lifting devices play a central role when it comes to safely transporting goods along increasingly demanding routes and in virtually any environment. Whether a wind turbine is being erected on the high seas, ships are being efficiently loaded and unloaded, or a skyscraper is setting new height records. The principle here is: bigger, faster and further, in conjunction with ever higher loads.

rothe erde® rings and slewing bearings have been reliable connecting elements for every crane and lifting device for decades, regardless of its purpose and size. They:

  • rotate smoothly,

  • withstand very high loads,

  • are protected from high friction, corrosion and wear by suitable lubricants,

  • increase the productivity of the application and

  • reduce maintenance and downtime of the application due to their long service life.

If required, the bearings can also be monitored in the installed condition using specially developed test systems. With to our self-developed condition monitoring systems, remote monitoring is digitally possible even for applications that are difficult to access. This enables targeted maintenance to be carried out and downtimes to be avoided.

Together with our customers, we develop technical solutions that meet even the most unusual requirements and at the same time provide them with an economic advantage. 

Submit a non-binding project inquiry now

Over the past decades, Rothe Erde has become a leading manufacturer of slewing bearings for cranes and lifting devices. When designing the slewing bearing, we create the perfect balance between cost-effectiveness and high load-bearing capacity. The reason for this are specially developed test procedures and the development of our own calculation tools

Alexander Jerrhof
Account Manager Cranes & Offshore

Our products are used in these cranes and lifting devices

Deck cranes

  • As the ship's own loading gear, deck cranes load and unload goods from cargo ships with a very high lifting capacity. Here, robust slewing bearings are in demand. They guarantee the swivel capacity of a deck crane under adverse maritime conditions: whether at irregular intervals with heavy loads or during high periods of operation when handling lighter and mid-sized loads.
  • Typical products: Four-point bearings, double four-point bearing, three-row cylindrical roller bearing, double-row ball bearing slewing ring, four-row cylindrical roller bearing, blanks, machined rings

Handling cranes / shipyard cranes

  • In port operations, handling and shipyard cranes are an essential support in transporting products, goods, and parts. These cranes are often rail-bound and characterized by their reliable technology and high durability. Since our bearings can withstand even the highest demands and loads, they have already been used around the world for several years.
  • Typical products: four-point bearing, double four-point bearing, three-row cylindrical roller bearing, double-row ball bearing slewing ring, blanks, machined rings

Lifting platforms

  • In the crane segment, lifting platforms represent a special variant. They are primarily used to lift people to places that are difficult to access. Whether the use is intended for mobility outdoors, on roofs, over shafts or in construction sites: The security aspect plays a central role. Our components combine cost-effective designs with high precision, which are characterized by a high safety factor.
  • Typical products: four-point bearing, slew drives, profile bearing, double-row ball bearing slewing ring

Rotating crossbars / container spreaders

  • The operation sites for crossbars are very different. These include production halls, factory premises, logistics centers and container terminals, amongst others. Resilient and powerful components are needed to transport the relevant goods. We offer specially designed slewing bearings and rings for different requirements. In addition, we also deliver reliable and cheap standard models suitable for several deployment scenarios.
  • Typical products: four-point bearing, double-row ball bearing slewing ring

Mobile cranes / truck-mounted cranes

  • Mobile cranes and truck-mounted cranes are mainly used for heavy transport in the places where fixed cranes are not available. Whether for small and light models, or for strong and robust mobile cranes: we deliver the components required to fulfill both the technical and financial customer-specific demands. Even in the event of limited assembly space, we use our many years of experi-ence to develop customized solutions for mobile and truck-mounted cranes.
  • Typical products: four-point bearings, double four-point bearings, three-row cylindrical roller bearing, profile bearings, blanks, and machined rings

Forest crane

  • Forest cranes are used in all fields of forestry, whether as mobile machines in the forest or as stationary units in sawmills. Working in the forest presents a special set of challenges. These include uneven ground, working on steep slopes and in the smallest of spaces. Thus, high-quality flexible units with mobile pivot arms designed for heavy loads are in demand. Our products fulfill these demands reliably and with high economic efficiency as construction and connection components.
  • Typical products: four-point bearing, double four-point bearings, three-row cylindrical roller bearings

Revolving tower cranes

  • A revolving tower crane can be found at almost every construction site in the world. This crane allows for the powerful vertical and horizontal movement of goods, particularly in structural engineering. Revolving tower cranes can transport loads across long distances within the radius of action. Our product portfolio offers an economically attractive range of models, extending to sophisticated special designs with high levels of resilience and durability.
  • Typical products: four-point bearings, double four-point bearings, three-row cylindrical roller bearing, double row- ball bearing slewing ring, profile bearing

Sheaves / Pulleys

  • Sheaves and pulleys are used in almost every field of industry and are standard equipment in many types of cranes. Pulleys serve as suspension rope guides in the hook blocks. This requires special sheave bearings that are able to withstand the effects of sudden loads and multiple changes in direction of rotation. They are designed to be very rigid fixed bearings which not only absorb high, radial forces but also axial forces in both directions and are ideally suited for complex load distribution requirements.
  • Typical products: two-row cylindrical roller bearing, four-point bearing

Mobile harbor cranes

  • The mobile harbor crane stands on the quay and loads or unloads cargo from the ships docked there. Port operations are characterized by high levels of time pressure. For this reason, the efficient handling of goods is of great importance. Special operational demands are made of mobile harbor cranes. They must be compact and effective. Bearings made by Rothe Erde offer the highest reliability throughout the entire service life of a crane.
  • Typical products: Three-row cylindrical roller bearing, double-row ball bearing slewing ring, four-point bearing, double four-point bearing

Railway cranes

  • In railway, switch, and bridge construction, railway cranes are faced with the most diverse of tasks and of deployment scenarios, e.g. in the event of rail traffic accidents, if trains or heavy goods need to be moved. Thus, railway cranes are designed to lift and move heavy loads. Our rothe erde® three-row cylindrical roller bearings and four-point bearings are best suited for this purpose, since they are specifically designed for heavy loads in limited installation spaces.
  • Typical products: three-row cylindrical roller bearings, four-point bearings

Portal crane

  • The gantry crane, which like the loading and shipyard cranes also runs on railways, is indispensable for the loading of goods with very high requirements. On the portal of the upper part of the crane, the so-called trolley, which can transport heavy loads, crosses the direction of travel. Our products prove to be important construction and connecting elements for the loading of the heaviest of goods.
  • Typical products: four-point bearing, double four-point bearings, three-row cylindrical roller bearing, double-row ball bearing slewing ring

Heavy duty / special cranes

  • When large and heavy parts have to be moved, or when difficult conditions prevail, many cranes reach their limits. Besides a powerful upper and lower build, the crane also needs a particularly robust bearing to withstand the high levels of strain. Our specially created components make it possible to meet all the requirements in the field of heavy duty and special cranes.
  • Typical products: three-row cylindrical roller bearing, four-row cylindrical roller bearing

Offshore cranes

  • Offshore cranes are specially designed for use on the high seas and fulfill an important function in the field of oil and gas extraction, as well as in the installation and maintenance of offshore wind turbines. Our product portfolio offers a wide range of bearing designs. We will advise you comprehensively on which bearing solution ensures maximum safety for your application and represents an economically optimal design. This ensures maximum safety and an economically optimal design.
  • Typical products: four-point bearings, double four-point bearings, three-row cylindrical roller bearing, segmented bearing, four-point cylindrical roller bearing, cross roller bearing, double-row ball bearing slewing ring

Truck loading cranes

  • If particularly bulky or heavy goods have to be loaded or unloaded onto or from trucks or other vehicles, loading cranes are needed. Irrespective of the operation site, our components fulfill the bearing requirement and load capacity for every application purpose. In doing so, we focus on solutions which remain economical for customers.
  • Typical products: four-point bearing, double four-point bearings, profile bearings, slewing drives

Our product portfolio

a slewing bearing in production

rothe erde® slewing bearings

a rothe erde® slee drive

rothe erde® slew drives

A blank in the machining process

rothe erde® rings

a rolling bearing

psl® rolling bearings

Man with safety clothes works slewing bearing

Additional options