US-based Solar Atmospheres has expanded its material handling capabilities at its Western Pennsylvania (PA) facility by installing a clear-span 20t crane in the shipping and receiving department.
G.W. Becker supplied and installed the equipment as part of efforts to support more efficient operations and maintain workplace safety standards.
Solar Atmospheres Western PA president Bob Hill said: “I grew weary of seeing our employees unloading flatbed trucks outside in inclement weather and struggling to manoeuvre 40ft-long bars, plates, or billets through a 30ft overhead door opening.
“The primary reason we made this investment was to improve the safety of all our employees.”
G.W. Becker sales manager Ronald Piso said: “Great work by the GWBI Service crew installing this with a long-standing and loyal customer. Thank you to Solar Atmosphere for our continued relationship.”
Solar Atmospheres processes over 15 million lb of metal each year and offers commercial vacuum heat treating services to various sectors, including aerospace, defence, medical, and power generation.
The company operates more than 90 furnaces across locations in Eastern and Western Pennsylvania, California, South Carolina, and Michigan.
G.W. Becker, a provider of overhead crane systems established in 1980, handled the design and installation of the crane.
The company manufactures custom cranes, hoists, and related components for industrial use throughout North America.
The new crane installation is intended to facilitate material movement within Solar Atmospheres’ Western Pennsylvania site as demand for its thermal processing services continues.
In November 2025, G.W. Becker fitted a 0.25t column-mounted jib crane with an electric chain hoist at a manufacturing facility in Hermitage, Pennsylvania.
