Fire resistant: lifting this year's World of Concrete

Even a slow start and an end-of-the-week fire couldn't stop another busy World of Concrete. John Wyatt reports on the hoists and mast climbers at the event

Manufacturers the first day of the World of Concrete had reason to be concerned. When the event commenced, the exhibit halls had only a modest turnout, at best. Yet, worries were soon put to rest as the day progressed and the show blossomed into the annual event we all have come to expect.

The show, with this year's very large Conexpo looming just less than two months away, still had Las Vegas Convention Center's space packed inside and out. Even as a fire broke out on the Strip's Monte Carlo hotel the last day of the show didn't seem to impact the enthusiasm as exhibitors answered questions till the show wrapped. Deals were made, handshakes were had, prospects mounted and most found their money and time well spent.

For customers that use mast climbing and hoist systems, the activity was in the Central and Outside Halls as several companies were on display. Historically, WoC has been the show for mast climbing and hoist suppliers as it reaches a great deal of general contractors, and subcontractors that work in the hand-trowelled trades. Many new products were launched at the event.

Import machines

For example, distributor SBU Hoists showcased the Chinese manufacturer Shanghai Baoda Engineering Machinery's new personnel and material construction hoist elevators.

The S6000- and S7000-C/DC units, which are double caged and have capacities of 6,000 and 7,000 pounds respectively, are powered by a SEW motor with a variable frequency drive. Each unit can travel up to 300 feet per minute simultaneously. As relatively lightweight machines, the units are easily transported on a standard trailer. SBU will engineer these units based on needs.

SBU's sales representative James Hinton says the leads were very high. “The odds are good we'll make some sales,” he says, saying out of the 100 serious leads from WoC, if he sells to five of those, “it's a good show.” The units will also be on display at Conexpo. He says current delivery time for the units in North American is six to eight weeks.

Massimo Toni, general manager for Madrid's AS Climber – represented in the US by American-AS Mast Climbers - introduced a new mast climbing system used for the demolition of industrial chimneys. Although the system wasn't there, the company held a press conference to report on the unit. The XMH system runs on four masts and has a capacity up 35,000 pounds. The platform can hold demolition equipment, working its way down as the deconstruction process begins. It has a speed of elevation at 39.37 feet per minute. Its platform width is 61/2 feet.

Its key feature is that if the platform hits some unexpected during its descent, the whole system will absorb the shock without a problem, says Toni.

“The problem is to convince the customer to spend a little bit more but finally they will recover these costs,” he says.

American-AS Mastclimbers will distribute this unit in stateside. The company's dealer development manager Barney Hanna says “hopefully this summer the company will carry the unit here [in the US].”

Construction hoist

The big news was the introduction of Hydro Mobile's distribution of Netherland's Raxtar. The Raxtar hoist is a material and personnel lift that operates very similar to an elevator. With built-in sensors that know floor levels, the hoist can travel to any floor for material loading/offloading. The hoists are available with car lengths of 10 feet, 6 inches to 13 feet, 1 inch, lifting speeds of 135 to 300 feet per minute and loads of 3,300 to 7,000 pounds. (Higher speeds, lifting capacities and larger car dimensions are available upon request.) The unit features an automated system that greases the rack and pinion for easier maintenance to the renters.

Inside the elevator, it has a (bilingual) monitor which reads information on the hoist, such as self-diagnosis and how to use the hoist.

The company, which operates a rental business that supplies mast climbers and hoists, had met Hydro Mobile at Bauma last year, where Raxtar gave a presentation on its hoist. Pascal Matheeuwsen, one of the co-founders of Raxtar, says Hydro Mobile impressed them the most out all of the companies it met there.

“What we did, we looked at service calls for many years in the rental business and tried to solve the major problems that all hoists have –in our eyes—and we came up with this concept,” says Matheeuwsen. “We met Hydro Mobile, and got talking, and noticed the American market was very interesting for us.”

Hydro Mobile also brought its F Series swivel bridge accessory that allows angles from 0 to 45 degrees for complex building configurations and round/contour shapes.

Beta Max exhibited in two booths this year, inside and outdoors. Outside, the company featured its Max Climber 6000P Passenger Hoist System, which has a lifting capacity of 6,000 pounds and can hold a maximum of 35 passengers. The cabin is 156 inches long and 59 inches wide by 96 inches high. Available in single or dual cabin configurations, the lift can travel up to 1,000 feet high at a speed of up to 180 fpm.

The company also showcased its new MH 880 hoist. The product is a small hoist for masons at a reasonable price, says Dennis Mannion, president of Beta-Max. The hoist can freestand up to 30 feet and has a capacity of 800 pounds.

Mannion says this concept has been used in Europe for several years now. However, he says the US market is slow to catch on and expects this hoist may take two to three years to find its niche stateside. The unit will be “marketed” by third quarter this year.

Transporter

Fraco debuted its new Transporter single tower transport platform that can be operated with one or two cabins (see Access International, JanFeb 2008). Using the ACT lifting technology, the system can travel up to 39 feet per minute with a capacity of 8,000 pounds for a single cabin and up to 10,000 pounds with both cabins. According to the company, the unit is targeted at general contractors, and other various hand-trowelled subcontractors.

The company says among its main benefits include a quick assembly/dismantling stage (approximately two days), no need for a concrete base, and its drive units are interchangeable with other Fraco systems.

According to Julie Rainville, project manager with Fraco, 10 units will be available by May 1. The company has already sold units in Florida and Quebec.

Like many other companies, Fraco uses World of Concrete not only as a way to promote its products, but find dealers. “Most of the dealers we have right now we have met at World of Concrete,” says Rainville.

Two light duty mast climbing units were new that EZ Scaffold, the family owned business operated by the Bridges, introduced at WoC. The QL (Quick Lift) mast climber is for 30 feet of working height and can be powered by gas or electric. “It's light duty so guys can roll it around inside or can be towed behind a pick up or picked up by a forklift. It's fully self-contained, has 14 to 24 feet of linear wall that it can cover and has 1,500 pounds capacity. It's a real handy light duty unit,” says the company's Clint Bridges, sales manager.

It also brought on its new AS Climber light duty mast climber. This is an electric unit that is 19 feet wide in a single tower and has 1,100 pounds of capacity. This high speed electric rack and pinion mast climbing system can go 330 feet high.

Like other mast climbing companies, Bridges reports the WoC is a good venue for finding new distributors and as the second day of the show began, says he “probably” already had three new dealers. Furthermore, everything in its booth at the show, with its new concrete mixers and scaffold systems, were sold. Bridges says it is continuously trying to add new mast climbers to its range to go along with its current heavy duty high capacity units. The company says it will introduce another “high speed” mast climber unit next year at WoC.

“For the next nine to 10 months we'll have leads from the show that we'll follow up heavy and strong. Every year the show gets better for us,” he says. The company sells in Mexico and Canada as well, but the show has presented international customer potential Bridges says.

Sky's the limit

Suspended access company Sky Climber was in attendance launching its latest product that it has been working on for the last two years. Its new FNX personnel hoist is designed to operate like an elevator, as it features a slow start/slow stop for easy riding. It also features an LCD monitor for self diagnostics that tells the operator if there is a problem, such as low power, low voltage.

“We wanted to make a very comfortable ride. It has two different speeds. The one goes 35 a minute; the other goes 17 feet a minute. It's really meant to be a very safe, easy ride,” says vice president of sales & marketing Todd King. The product will be available mid to late quarter 2008, in both the US and internationally.

Ontario's Klimer brought along its KTP3 transport and platform hoist that runs on a single mast and has a capacity of 3,500 pounds. The unit has hydraulic ramps on both ends of the platform that are controlled from the operator station. Its 14 feet length and 61/2 foot width platform is designed for bulky and awkward loads, the company says. It can travel at 39 feet per minute.

“It's a pretty simple device,” says Klimer president Jay Gordon. “The unit is gas powered but can be electrically powered.”

Gordan says its key features are its hydraulic ramps that address the “18 inch gap” and its interchangeable components that are compatible with other Klimer systems.

Bennu Parts & Service brought its new Continuous-Climb Self-Leveling Work Platform system that owner Jerry Castle has been engineering for the last three years. The system has a 20,000 pound capacity with single-button operation. Made at the company's facility in Elk Grove Village, IL – where Mr Castle also operates his rental yard Jerry Castle & Son Hi-Lift Inc., the owner says he hopes the unit is available by July.

“This unit is simple, easy to operate for any one to use,” says Castle. He says the work platform is targeted at brick and block masons. “The unit can be used in a length up to 120 feet. You can do any configuration you want.”

The company plans to sell the unit all over the US, he says with a patent pending in Canada but no plans to sell worldwide currently. He says he uses WoC not only for the leads, but to get critical feedback on the machines. “I tell them, 'you won't hurt my feelings, tell me what you don't like on our product.'”