Belding Walbridge has a 123 year tradition of innovations that have revolutionized many industries. Among the many inventions throughout its rich history:

NASA Space Shuttle Lifting.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration contracted Belding Engineering in the mid 1970's to design a hoisting system for the Space Shuttle.

Launched at Cape Canaveral in Florida, the Space Shuttle is designed to return and land at Edwards Airforce Base in California. As a re-useable space shuttle system, the craft must be transported back to Florida for it's next launch. It is this system and procedure for lifting the shuttle onto the 747 transport that Belding was responsible for. This same Belding-designed procedure is still in use today.

NASA Space Shuttle Transporter System

Gantries, a Belding Invention!
Parts of the following summary were taken from the November 2000 publication of Cranes Today Magazine:

"Telescopic hydraulic gantries were born in the early 1960s. The first pure hydraulic gantry was designed and built in 1963 by Hartley Belding, then the chief engineer of Belding Engineering Company.

The company was awarded a contract to relocate a amanufacturing plant owned by Elkay Sink Company in Illinois. Among the equipment to be moved were a number of large presses. Belding envisioned the gantry system as a practical method of lifting tall presses and laying them down to the horizontal postition for transporting.

In the following years, Belding designed and constructed a variety of gantry systems (example highlighted in picture to the left) of various capacity and lift heights. These gantry systems are used today throughout the machinery moving industry and are considered "standard equipment." Belding Walbridge today owns and operated multiple sets of multi-stage gantry systems giving us the capability of lifting up to 800 tons.

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