Three decades of lifting, engineering and doing it right.
In 2026, Durham Lifting celebrates 30 years in business. From our beginnings in Shildon to some of the UK's most capable proof load testing facilities and complex lifting projects around the world, a great deal has changed. The principles behind the business have not.
Thirty years ago, Durham Lifting began with a clear ambition: to build a specialist lifting company where engineering knowledge, safety and doing the job properly came first.
Three decades later, those principles still define us. Our capabilities have grown considerably since 1996, but the way we approach our work has remained remarkably consistent.
Today, we support customers across offshore wind, oil and gas, marine, defence, infrastructure and heavy industry, providing lifting equipment, proof load testing, crane services and engineered lifting solutions for some of the most demanding applications.
Celebrating 30 years.
Our anniversary is an opportunity to look back at how the business has developed, recognise the people who have helped build it and look ahead to the next generation of lifting and engineering challenges.
Where it began.
Durham Lifting was founded in 1996 by Amanda Gardiner and her father, Frank Pickersgill, in Shildon, County Durham.
At the time, lifting was developing into an increasingly specialised and technically demanding discipline. Amanda and Frank saw an opportunity to create a business focused specifically on lifting, supported by the engineering knowledge and technical expertise needed to solve problems properly.
“Lifting was becoming an increasingly specialised and technical discipline, and we saw an opportunity to build a dedicated lifting business from the ground up.”
Amanda Gardiner · Managing Director, Durham Lifting
As the business grew, one of the most important developments in our history was the acquisition of the historic Britannia Test House in Middlesbrough.
The move gave us the space and infrastructure to significantly expand our proof load testing, manufacturing and specialist engineering capabilities, while establishing the headquarters from which Durham Lifting continues to operate today.
“Britannia Test House has played a huge part in our journey. It's a building with a rich engineering history, and we've continued to invest in it to ensure it can support the industries of tomorrow as well as those that built it.”
Amanda Gardiner · Managing Director, Durham Lifting
Growing alongside offshore wind.
Few industries demonstrate how much lifting has changed over the past 30 years better than offshore wind.
We supported some of the sector's earlier installation vessels before progressing to increasingly complex lifting projects for major offshore developments in the UK and overseas.
“The scale of change has been incredible. Twenty-five years ago, we would have been working on cranes capable of lifting around 400 tonnes. Today, we're supporting projects involving 3,000 and 4,000-tonne cranes aboard some of the largest installation vessels.”
Amanda Gardiner · Managing Director, Durham Lifting
Over the years, our work has supported developments and projects including Dogger Bank, Sofia, London Array, Blyth and Inch Cape.
That work has included designing and supplying bespoke lifting solutions for the handling of monopiles, turbine blades and nacelles, as well as supporting complex cable load-out and offshore installation operations.
One project that brings many of those capabilities together was the design, manufacture and proof load testing of a 125-tonne self-balancing C-hook for SeAH Wind's monopile manufacturing facility on Teesside.
Developed specifically for handling monopiles within the facility, the lifting accessory required our engineering, manufacturing and testing teams to work together from initial concept through to final proof load testing.
“This project is an example of the exceptional engineering work we have undertaken and successfully delivered. It took the project from concept through to completion and allowed us to bring together every division of the business to achieve a first-class result.”
Amanda Gardiner · Managing Director, Durham Lifting
Engineering remains at the core of what we do.
Equipment, facilities and technology have all changed since Durham Lifting began, but our engineering capability continues to be one of the most important parts of the business.
Our mechanical design engineers work across proof load testing, lifting equipment design and the development of new products and bespoke solutions for challenging lifting applications.
“I believe our engineering ability is what sets us apart. We have a highly experienced team of mechanical design engineers, with expertise ranging from proof load testing to developing new products that solve complex lifting challenges.”
“We do things right and we don't cut corners.”
Paul Gardiner · Director, Durham Lifting
That philosophy is about much more than engineering performance. Safety remains fundamental to everything we do.
“Everything we do is centred on ensuring that people go home safely at the end of the day. That has been a core value of the business throughout the past 30 years.”
Paul Gardiner · Director, Durham Lifting
Supporting lifting equipment throughout its working life.
Our growth has not only been about larger projects and greater testing capacity. We have also continued to develop the service support we provide to customers every day.
Our Service Division helps businesses manage lifting equipment and crane systems throughout their operational lifecycle, including inspection, certification, preventative maintenance, repairs and asset management.
Technology is also changing the way customers manage their equipment. Our digital asset management platform gives customers access to inspection records, certification and maintenance histories from one central system.
QR codes can be assigned to overhead cranes, forklifts, spreader beams and other lifting assets, allowing relevant equipment information to be accessed quickly while helping businesses maintain visibility of inspection and compliance requirements.
“The platform is just one part of what we offer. Our goal is to make life easier for our customers by giving them complete confidence that their equipment is compliant, properly maintained and ready when they need it.”
Samuel Gardiner · Service Manager, Durham Lifting
Building our own engineered lifting systems.
Our engineering experience has also led to the development of our own range of engineered lifting systems through Multisec®.
The range includes modular spreader beams, multi-point lifting beams, modular lifting frames and specialist solutions developed for complex lifting operations.
Multisec systems now hold DNV Type Approval and are supplied to customers in more than 11 countries, demonstrating how engineering developed here in the North East is being used on lifting projects around the world.
Thirty years behind us. Plenty still ahead.
Perhaps one of the things we are most proud of as we celebrate our anniversary is that Durham Lifting remains a business built around its people.
Our team combines decades of lifting and engineering experience with a new generation now helping to shape how the company develops.
“We've built a knowledgeable and experienced team that customers know they can rely on. The technology supports their work, but it's the people behind the business who make the real difference.”
Olivia Gardiner · Sales & Operations Manager, Durham Lifting
Over 30 years we have seen lifting capacities increase dramatically, new industries emerge and engineering challenges become increasingly complex.
We have invested in our facilities, developed our engineering capability, expanded our services and created new lifting products, but we have never wanted growth to come at the expense of the principles on which Durham Lifting was founded.
Technical knowledge matters. Safety matters. The quality of the work matters. And when a customer trusts us with a lifting challenge, doing the job properly matters.
We are extremely proud of what our team has built since 1996 and grateful to the customers, suppliers, employees and partners who have been part of that journey.
As we celebrate our 30th anniversary, our focus is firmly on what comes next: continuing to invest, continuing to engineer better solutions and continuing to support the industries that depend on safe, reliable lifting.
Have a lifting challenge?
From proof load testing and lifting equipment to crane services and completely bespoke engineered solutions, talk to our team about your next project.