American Oak Quercus Alba crane mats take the strain

Timbermat American Oak Quercus Alba crane mats, temporary roadways and ground protection mats are an excellent option on sites where you need to create a safe and stable platform for heavy-duty mobile equipment and protect against penetrating the surface below.

Already in September we have seen the importance of crane mats in Manchester city centre, after a wheeled crane vehicle broke through the pavement outside the Debenhams department store on Market Street.

Images of the incident posted on social networks show the vehicle at a sideways tilt, with one rugged tyre buried in the broken flagstones and the corner entrance to the store completely blocked as a result. Council workers later fenced off the surrounding pavement, in an attempt to prevent passers-by from being put at risk.

Over a week later, the vehicle still had not been recovered, and it is largely down to chance that the shop has been able to stay open just using other entrances, and the nearby Metrolink service has been able to continue operating too.

American Oak crane mats – thick, heavy, sustainable

Our American Oak Quercus Alba crane mats provide a sustainable way to spread the weight of heavy crane vehicles, delivery trucks and other vehicles and mobile equipment to reduce the risk of putting a tyre or track through a paved surface, or through any other unstable or fragile ground layer.

American white oak is sustainably produced under the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, so you know when you buy Quercus Alba crane mats or hire American Oak ground protection mats from Timbermat, you are complying with import regulations and protecting the environment too.

The timber is medium-strength against crushing and bending, with low stiffness, making it ideal to absorb the shocks of heavy equipment passing overhead – the flexibility dissipating the peak forces throughout the mats rather than exerting it on a specific spot at high pressure.

We supply American Oak timber mats in thicker measurements, and in larger sizes, to maximise this dissipation of forces across a larger area, reducing the risk of an incident like the one that took place on Market Street in Manchester earlier this month. If you have specific requirements, get in touch today and a member of our team will discuss options with you.