---
title: "Two of only three in the UK: what track-mounted placing booms change on site"
description: Trent runs two of the only three track-mounted concrete placing booms in the UK. What they are, why so few exist, and what they change on your pour.
image: https://www.trentcs.com/hubfs/DJI%20shot.jpeg
---
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# Two of only three in the UK: what track-mounted placing booms change on site
Aug 5, 2026, 2:15:00 PM · Trent Construction
## What a placing boom actually does
There are three track-mounted concrete placing booms working in the UK. Two of them are ours. That is not a boast for its own sake. The reason we invested in this plant, and the reason so few others have, tells you a lot about how we think concrete should be placed.
On a conventional large pour, concrete gets from the pump to the slab through a combination of pipeline, manual handling and people dragging hoses across reinforcement. It works, but it is slow, labour heavy, and the quality of placement depends on how tired the gang is by the afternoon.
A placing boom takes the pipeline into the air. Concrete is pumped to a hydraulic boom that articulates over the pour and places concrete precisely where it is needed, at a steady rate, all day. The gang stops fighting the hose and starts finishing the floor.
## Why track-mounted, and why so rare
Most placing booms are static: craned into position, bolted down, and moved only with time and cost. A track-mounted boom drives itself around the site. It repositions in minutes rather than hours, tracks across prepared ground into the next bay, and reaches positions that would otherwise need temporary works or a crane on standby.
The machines are a serious investment and they demand experienced operators, which is why most flooring contractors rely on the hire market instead, when the right kit is available, at the hire company's price, on the hire company's schedule. We chose to own ours outright. When the programme says the floor goes in this week, the plant is already on our yard.
## What it changes on your pour
- **Speed.** [Large floor pours](https://www.trentcs.com/concrete-flooring) placed at a consistent rate without the stop-start of repositioning pipelines, so bigger pours fit inside single shifts and weather windows.
- **Quality.** Steady, controlled placement supports tighter flatness and level specifications, because the finishing gang works to an even supply rather than around a hose.
- **Fewer people on the slab.** Less manual handling means smaller gangs, less fatigue and a safer pour.
- **Access.** Restricted, phased and awkward sites become workable, because the boom reaches over obstructions and repositions itself without a crane.
- **Programme certainty.** No reliance on the hire market. Our plant, our operators, our schedule.
Alongside the booms we run a Somero S22EZ laser screed and three concrete line pumps, all owned, all operated by our own teams. The combination covers everything from large industrial slabs to bases on [remote energy sites](https://www.trentcs.com/knowledge/concrete-foundations-solar-farms-battery-storage).
## The honest bit
Not every job needs a placing boom, and we will not pretend otherwise. Plenty of pours are best served by a [line pump](https://www.trentcs.com/concrete-pumping) and a good gang, and we price those every week. The point of owning the rare kit is that when a project does need it, the tight programme, the difficult access, the pour that cannot go wrong, we are one of the very few who can bring it.
That is what around 35 years in specialist concrete teaches you: own the plant that matters, keep the teams that know how to use it, and do the job right the first time.
## Common questions
What is a concrete placing boom?
A hydraulic articulated boom that receives concrete from a pump and places it precisely across a pour, replacing manual pipeline handling. It speeds up large pours and improves placement control.
What is the difference between a static and a track-mounted placing boom?
A static boom is fixed in position and needs a crane and time to relocate. A track-mounted boom drives itself around the site, repositioning in minutes, which suits large slabs, phased pours and sites with difficult access.
Do you hire out your placing booms?
Our plant works as part of the concrete flooring and screed works we deliver, with our own operators and finishing teams. We do not offer dry hire.
What size of pour justifies a placing boom?
As a rule of thumb, large floor slabs, phased pours and any site where access or programme pressure makes conventional pipeline handling slow or risky. We advise on the right method for each project at pricing stage.
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