Safety Remains Top Priority
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| Caldwell Posi-Turner Load Rotator Model CM, Chassis Master Inverting System. |
Suppliers rise to the occasion while addressing numerous market demands.
by Kim Phelan
Caldwell Director of Business Development Jeff Ferchen says ergonomics are always a factor in the rigging and lifting industry, especially as lifts get heavier and QHSE requirements get tighter. “What that means is that operators who are fabricating, building, and installing equipment want lifting devices to move and manipulate their assembly operations with ease,” he said. “And what that further means is that Caldwell is seeing more specialty, customized lifting equipment being requested. The lifting devices have to fit seamlessly into existing production lines, which often require, at minimum, tweaking our standard equipment but can also result in whole-scale customizations. Luckily, Caldwell’s sales and engineering teams are well suited to handle both.”
Prevention of pinch points is also getting more attention today. “Users of lifting beams, sheet lifters, and coil lifting equipment are demanding more and more ‘no touch’ hook up points,” Ferchen said. “For beams, that means pin bails versus lifting bails where an operator would ideally not have to hold the crane hook latch back in order to engage the hook. Eliminating the unnecessary pinch points is always a win.”
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| Caldwell Model 86 Double-Leg Coil Lifter has a new and improved design making this versatile lifter a great option for coil lifts where aisle space is tight. |
Another safety issue has to do with loads needing to be rotated in the manufacturing operation to allow work on the opposite side of the unit to be done in a more “in-line” way. “We are witnessing tremendous growth in our Posi-Turner Load Rotator product line requests – it allows users to flip and rotate loads under hook when the use of traditional chain slings would be scary,” he said. “If you think about something like flipping weldments, the need for smooth rotation is obvious. When the center of gravity reaches the tipping point with a traditional sling, you can cause shock loading and end up damaging equipment or the load, and possibly put the operator in harm’s way. The Posi-Turner provides continuous movement of the work piece at controlled rates with no shock loading when rotating things like weldments, chassis, or other large, bulky, asymmetrical pieces.”
Jim Canfield, national sales manager at All Material Handling (AMH), says more customers want to buy hoists with American content, or even hoists from overseas that are not Chinese. “To help clients identify which of our popular products contain U.S.-made content, AMH has also created a USA Content Calculator,” he said. “Available on our website, this easy-to-use tool can help clarify the domestic content of each LA and MA hoist. Depending on the capacity and amount of load chain, these hoists can exceed the threshold for Buy American Act product requirements.”
He notes another important priority is availability. “Since the pandemic, the way business is done has changed,” said Canfield. “It is a much more reactive market, meaning customers want their products very quickly. The only way to deliver shorter lead times is to invest in inventory. AMH has always carried high levels of stock, even in capacities that most providers do not hold in their warehouses.
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| Lift-All Manual Chain Hoist, Mini Lever Hoist and Lever Chain Hoist |
“Most hoist providers will stock capacities up to 10 tons and order in anything bigger. Lead times for these larger hoists can be 10 to 12 weeks from other suppliers, whereas we hold Stateside stock all the way up to 30 tons, which is extremely rare in this industry,” Canfield continued. “If the customer is ordering a relatively simple configuration, we can build, test, and ship it the next day. For more complex hoists it is a week at most, so still a significant time saving over the industry average.”
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| Lift-All's patent-pending GripHook design converts your forklift into a below the fork lifting device. |
According to Christina Reynolds, marketing manager at Lift-All Company Inc., what the market wants most today is lifts and hoists that are easy to use. “Newer products allow users to move materials easier and faster without sacrificing safety,” she said. “Lift-All’s new manual hoist line is an affordable option while still providing quality and safety features the market demands. Customer’s continually ask for cost effective products that are easy to use and hold up under tough conditions. The Lift-All hoist line does just that.”
RESPONDING TO MARKET NEEDS
Canfield asserts that self-locking hooks – also known as positive locking hooks – are becoming increasingly popular because they prevent exposure to OSHA citations for latches that come off during rough use. Self-locking hooks are ideal for customers who want to go above and beyond what a standard latch would offer. “AMH now offers self-locking hooks as a retrofit for most capacities in both its LA and MA series,” he said.
“Another common OSHA citation is for hoists being used with missing warning labels,” Canfield continued. “AMH’s lever hoists come with stainless steel name plates featuring the required ASME/OSHA warnings etched onto them. AMH also offers overload protection via a one-directional slip clutch that will only slip in the lift direction. This ensures that if an incident occurs, the load can always be safely lowered.”
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| AMH Cartec Hoist Ring | All Material Handling Lever Chain Hoist |
On the safety front, he said AMH is taking a leading position on safety advocacy. “Lifting can be complex, and we believe it is the industry’s job to help inform and educate in order to improve safety and reduce risk. A good example would be speaking out about too many non-traditional lifts still taking place using the wrong hoist rings and eyebolts, creating unnecessary safety risks.
“Traditional eyebolts are best used for straight in-line lifts only, or they incur a significant reduction in the working load limit,” Canfield added. “In the worst cases, they can even sideload. As a safer alternative, AMH recommends rotating hoist rings, as they are specifically designed to lift from the focal point and keep the load centered – traditional eyebolts can tend to sideload. While a swivel eyebolt has a slightly higher price than a standard eyebolt, this is nothing compared to the human and financial cost of an incident that causes injury or even death.”
Ferchen at Caldwell says his company responds to market trends by providing custom solutions no matter what the end user’s application may be. “We can create concepts from scratch with our on-site staff of engineers and industry technical experts,” he said, “or we can take our standard designs and make simple adjustments for the end user’s specific environment via the online SmartSpec product configurator tool.”
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| Harrington Hoist's RNER2B/RNER2D series three phase hazardous location electric chain hoists are designed for use in locations where fire or explosion hazards may exist due to flammable gases/vapors/liquids or combustible dust. |
These hoists are available in three different models for various hazardous location atmospheres:
• The RNER2 model is suitable for Class II Division 2 with protected dust groups F (coal) and G (grain).
• The RNER2B model is designed for Class I, II Division 1 with protected gas groups C (Ethylene) and D (Propane) and with protected dust groups F (coal) and G (grain).
• The RNER2D model meets the requirements for Class I Division 2 with protected gas groups of B (Hydrogen), C (Ethylene), D ( Propane).
Capacities range from 1 ton to 5 ton with a standard 10-foot lift and are available in either a top hook configuration or with a trolley if additional mobility is required. Standard configurations of the RNER2 model, including certain options, are certified and listed to applicable UL standards and are marked UL. The RNER2B and RNER2D models are listed to applicable UL and CSA standards bearing the cULus mark.
Standard premium quality features include low-headroom upper and lower limit switches, a long-life slip clutch protecting the hoist from damage, super strength, nickel-plated load chain and the industry-proven “The Guardian” Smart Brake Technology, its failsafe maintenance-free brake with a 10-year warranty.
This article originally appeared in the May/June 2025 issue of Industrial Supply magazine. Copyright 2025, Direct Business Media.
INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY MAGAZINE
The May/June issue of Industrial Supply magazine features an in-depth cover story about the ISA's Veterans Empowerment Network. Plus, we're featuring articles by contributing writers Dr. Bharani Nagarathnam and Frank Hurtte, as well as interviews with numerous product and distribution industry experts.
