Crane Mats
HERMEQ crane mats are solid hardwood timber mats for long-term temporary access roads and working areas on soft, unstable ground. Laid under heavy equipment, they spread the weight of tracks and wheels across a wide area, so the ground beneath ruts less and machines stay level, and the density of the hardwood lets each mat carry high loads without breaking up. Ekki mats resist rain, weather and acid, insulate against electricity and hold their structure through years of reuse. Tropical hardwood mats, cut from dense species that resist decay, suit wet and uneven ground, and European oak and beech mats are the lower-cost choice for everyday site access.
Ekki, tropical hardwood and oak crane mats
The right timber turns on the load the mats will carry, the ground they will sit on and how long they will stay down.
Ekki timber crane mats
Ekki timber crane mats are the heavy end of the range, made for pads under mobile cranes and piling rigs and for jobs where the load or the ground asks more of a mat than oak or beech can give. Ekki has the highest bending strength of the timbers HERMEQ supplies, and it resists acid, water and weather, so it is the species for contaminated or chemical-prone ground and for work around substations. Because it keeps its structure through years of lifting and relaying, it also suits contractors who move one fleet of mats from one large civil or energy job to the next.
Tropical hardwood mats
The tropical hardwood mats are cut from dense species such as Okan and Dabema, selected for their density, mechanical strength and resistance to decay. They are the choice for long spells on wet or waterlogged ground at a lower cost than Ekki, and the interlocking grain of these timbers keeps each mat in shape under heavy loading and prolonged exposure. Oil and gas, power transmission and renewable energy projects use them for temporary roads, crossings over soft fields and crane work on uneven terrain where the mats stay down for months.
European oak and beech mats
European oak and beech mats are the lower-cost timber for day-to-day load bearing: general access for wheeled and tracked equipment, temporary roads over sensitive surfaces, cover over utilities and live services, and crane or excavator pads on a budget. They are easy to handle and reposition, which suits housing developments, utility installations and short-term staging areas that are set up and cleared quickly.
Crane mat thickness for pads and access roads
Thicker mats go under cranes, piling rigs and outriggers, and thinner mats build access roads, swamp crossings and staging areas. Across the range, mats run from 4 in to 12 in thick. A thicker mat is stiffer, so it spreads a concentrated load, such as a crawler track or an outrigger float, over a wider area of ground and bends less where the load bears down. A thinner mat is lighter to lift and place, and on a long route that difference adds up in handling time and in the number of mats each truck delivers.
Three things push the choice toward the thicker end. The first is the weight of the machine and what it lifts, since a crane under load puts far more pressure through one corner than the same crane traveling empty. The second is how that weight reaches the ground: tracks spread it along their length, while wheels and outrigger floats concentrate it on small areas. The third is the ground itself, because the softer and wetter it is, the more of the load the mat has to spread before the soil can carry it. Where one route serves both haul trucks and a crane, a common layout is thinner mats for the road and thicker mats for the pad at the end of it.
What crane mats and swamp mats are used for
Crane and piling rig pads
Under a crane or piling rig, the mats have to give a level, stable base that does not settle unevenly while the load moves. The pad extends past the tracks or outrigger floats on every side, so the load never sits on the edge of a mat. The ground beneath is leveled and cleared of soft pockets before the first mat goes down, because a mat laid over a void can rock when the crane slews or the rig drives a pile.
Temporary access roads and swamp crossings
An access road is a continuous run of mats butted end to end over wetlands, soft fields or mud, so that tracked and wheeled equipment reaches the work face without cutting ruts. What matters is an even running surface with no gaps or steps between mats, and enough width for the widest machine that will use it. Mats can be angled to follow a bend, and on swamp crossings the run carries excavators and haul trucks over ground that would not hold them, then comes up when the work is done.
Power line, substation, pipeline and rail access
Utility work often runs along a narrow right-of-way to a tower, a pipeline spread or a rail corridor, across farmland and sensitive ground that has to be handed back in good condition. Around substations and energized equipment, the mats sit close to live electrical plant and buried cable, which is why an insulating, acid-resistant timber such as Ekki is specified there. On pipeline and rail jobs, the mats also spread machine weight over buried services that heavy equipment would otherwise crush.
Equipment staging and working platforms
Mats laid side by side make a modular platform for parking and servicing equipment, storing materials and giving crews a firm, dry surface to work from. The platform grows or shrinks as the job changes, and mats lifted from one phase are relaid in the next. A level platform also keeps aerial lifts and telehandlers sitting square on ground that would otherwise let one side sink.
Ordering timber mats for soft ground and long runs
Once the timber and thickness are settled, the order depends on the ground, the size of the run and how long the mats will be used.
Ground conditions and when another product fits better
Timber mats spread load over ground that is soft but continuous, so walk the route first and mark soft spots, standing water, buried services and open excavations. A timber mat needs ground beneath its whole length, and to cross an open trench or excavation you need road plates, which are made to span a gap. For light vehicles and foot traffic on lawns, sports fields and turf, plastic ground protection mats are lighter to carry and place by hand.
How many mats to order and how to lay the run
Start with the route length divided by the length of one mat, then add mats for every bend, turning area and passing place, and for the pad around each crane or rig. On a single-lane road shared by trucks in both directions, a passing place at intervals stops vehicles reversing off the run. Before delivery, confirm which machine will unload, lift and place the mats, and that it can handle the heaviest mat in the order.
Project length, reuse and custom sizes
For a single job, oak and beech mats keep the purchase cost down. Where the same mats will move from job to job over years, the longer life of tropical hardwood and Ekki spreads the cost across far more uses. For a crane pad or route that standard sizes do not fit, HERMEQ makes Ekki mats to order in the profile and coverage the job needs.
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Frequently Asked Questions
The names overlap, and the trade uses them loosely. Crane mats usually means the thicker, heavier mats laid as pads under cranes and piling rigs, swamp mats means mats laid as roads and crossings over wet ground, and timber mats is the general name for both, along with rig mats and access mats. Every mat in this range is solid hardwood, and the same mat can do either job when its thickness and timber suit the load.
Lengths across the range run from about 10 ft to 20 ft. Widths and thicknesses vary by timber, and each product page lists the sizes available in that species.
A mat's weight depends on the density of its species and on its thickness and length, so a thick Ekki mat weighs considerably more than a thin oak mat of the same footprint. The product page for each timber lists the weight of every size. Timber mats are too heavy to place by hand and are moved with an excavator or a forklift rated for the load.
Service life depends on the species, the loads the mats carry, the ground they sit on and how they are cleaned and stored between jobs. Ekki, with its resistance to acid, water and weather, is the timber to buy for repeat, long-term use across many projects.
Timber mats are not normally bolted or clipped together, because their own weight holds them in place once laid. Mats in a road are butted tight end to end and side to side, so there are no gaps for a wheel or track to drop into. The ground is leveled first so that each mat bears along its full length, and on crane pads mats are often laid in two layers at right angles to tie the pad together.
Stack the mats flat on level ground, on bearers that keep the bottom layer clear of standing water, with each layer square on the one below. Pressure clean them when they come up, so mud, fuel and other contaminants do not stay in the timber. Check for split ends and loose or damaged boards before the stack goes out to the next job.