Bespoke Specials
Standard lifts answer standard questions. The projects that reach SERAPID’s bespoke team are the ones where the answer does not exist yet: a lift that has to raise a section of road, rise through an opening floor, travel further than any catalogue product, or fit a shaft whose dimensions were fixed by a building that went up decades ago.
Rigid Chain Technology suits this work because it is scalable in a way most lift technologies are not. The chain, the magazine and the drive are the same components at every size; what changes is how many of them there are and how they are arranged. Nothing is too large for SERAPID Lift Systems to engineer.
What bespoke actually cover
- Dimensional constraint — a shaft, pit or headroom that no standard product will fit
- Rising roads and moving ground surfaces, where the carriageway lifts with the platform
- Opening floors, where the lift rises through a finished floor that must close behind it
- Long-travel installations beyond standard stroke
- Architectural specification — a finish, geometry or integration that the standard range cannot deliver
- Modernisation and direct replacement of existing hydraulic or traction systems
When full compliance is not possible
This is the part of the service that is hardest to find elsewhere. Some installations — particularly in existing buildings and in heritage and infrastructure settings — cannot meet every clause of the applicable standard, because the building physically will not allow it. SERAPID Lift Systems has unrivalled experience in delivering lifts in exactly those circumstances: working closely with Notified Bodies and producing detailed design files supported by essential health and safety requirements in order to achieve certification.
In practice, that means the conversation starts with what the building can give, not with what the standard assumes. It is the difference between a project that stalls at approvals and one that gets built.
Modernisation and replacement
Rigid chain technology is well suited to modernisation, where it can act as a direct replacement for an existing hydraulic or traction system. For an asset owner, the attraction is usually what disappears: the borehole, the hydraulic fluid and its disposal obligations, the machine room, and the cooling that a hard-worked hydraulic system needs. What remains is a shallow pit and a mechanical drive that wants very little attention.
Delivered examples
| Installation | Type | Sector | Location |
| High specification two-car lift | Car lift | Residential | UK |
| Automated parking garage | Car lift | Commercial | UK |
| High specification cabin interior | Car lift | Residential | Germany |
| Two-stop goods lift | Goods lift | Commercial | Germany |
| Three-stop lift with road lifting system | Truck lift | Commercial | Korea |
How a bespoke project runs
Our engineers work from the constraint inwards. The starting point is the shaft, the structure, the duty and the compliance route the building can actually support; the design follows from there. Components are standard, configuration is ours — and where the standard route to certification is closed, we work with the Notified Body to open another one.
Frequently asked questions
No practical catalogue limit. Rigid Chain Technology scales by adding and arranging standard components, so size is an engineering question rather than a product question.
Yes. Where a building physically prevents full compliance, SERAPID works with Notified Bodies and produces detailed design files supported by essential health and safety requirements to achieve certification. This is an established part of the service.
Yes — it is a direct replacement in modernisation projects, and removes the borehole, the hydraulic fluid and the machine room in the process.
Yes. Bespoke systems have been delivered that rise through opening floors and that raise sections of road, both of which depend on the drive holding position precisely under eccentric load.
The load and duty, the available shaft, pit and headroom, the number of stops and travel, and the compliance route the project is targeting. Where those are not yet fixed, our engineers will work through the options with we.
Partner with SERAPID
Successful lift projects begin with clearly defined responsibilities and the right level of engineering support. Whether you need a standalone Drive Train, a complete Lift Package, or a fully installed Turnkey Lift, SERAPID provides the expertise, technology, and flexibility required to deliver exceptional results.
Our engineering specialists work closely with architects, consultants, contractors, OEMs, and building owners to determine the optimal scope of supply before design and construction begin. By defining the right project boundary early, you can reduce risk, improve coordination, and ensure a smoother path to successful project completion.
Whatever your application, SERAPID offers a lift solution that fits your project — and a scope of supply that fits your team.
Contact SERAPID to define your scope of supply
Discuss your lift project with our engineers and choose the right level of support, from Drive Train to fully commissioned Turnkey Lift.