Many new tower block development projects face a common challenge: how to install large, heavy pieces of equipment into the building’s energy centre, typically located in the basement. Specifying the optimal hoists is paramount to project success. Fortunately, the subcontractor supplying and installing the energy room’s plant for this particular project knew where to turn for a turnkey lifting solution: Hoist & Winch Ltd.

Hoist & Winch has extensive experience in all kinds of construction and industrial lifting applications. The company offers sales, installation, service, inspection, repair and hire services, with a special emphasis on project work. Supplying the optimal solution, with safety as the number one priority, is always the objective.

During the design phase, after formal tender and contract award, Hoist & Winch set about identifying the optimal solution by carefully assessing the specific lifting requirements. The project required the installation of hoists on both the upper and lower ground floor levels to ensure the successful lifting and transfer of large energy plant. It was clear from the outset that the solution would need to overcome the issue of very tight headroom clearances due to the size of the equipment.

After thoroughly considering all aspects of the project, Hoist & Winch Ltd was able to put forward its proposal, recommending two William Hacket low-headroom manual hoists, both with a hand-geared trolley. Offering a safe working load (SWL) of 2.5t each, the hoists provide 8m of lifting height and run on beam lengths of 8.5m and 7.0m.

Hoist & Winch duly submitted its design proposal, including drawings and structural calculations, for approval by engineers at the main contractor. Following approval, the company commenced manufacture before delivery to site.

During the installation phase, Hoist & Winch tested the installation anchor points to 1t before raising each beam into position using hand chain blocks. Elevating the beams to full height and clamping them hard against the concrete ceiling ready for drilling required the use of special lifting rigs. Once in position, the company proceeded with drilling operations and resin anchor installation for all ceiling anchor points after meticulously cleaning each hole with a special heavy-duty internal brush and suction pump. Following the specified resin curing time, Hoist & Winch tightened each anchor bolt to the required torque levels.

LOLER (Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations) inspection of the lifting beams and manual chain hoist units was the final operation. This activity included dynamic load testing of both beam lengths with a 2.5t skid-mounted test load followed by 125% static proof load test in accordance with BS 2853 2011. As a point of note, following customer handover, the hoists were to remain in place for use by the on-site maintenance team.

“We provided the client with a comprehensive project records and documentation package upon completion of works, which is standard practice,” says Hoist & Winch Director Andy Allen. “We then went through the handover process to ensure total peace of mind for our client. At Hoist & Winch, our focus is on ensuring customers benefit from our exceptionally knowledgeable team who never fail to deliver on their promise of providing a detailed and proficient approach to every project.”

“This is an unprecedented opportunity for the right buyer or buyers to obtain late model injection molding equipment, and chrome plating equipment including Stainless Steel Tanks, Rectifiers, Programmable Hoists, Filters and a huge quantity of copper and nickel scrap metal,” said Sam Suchowiecky of Hilco Global Mexico. The auction will be conducted jointly by Hilco Global Mexico, Machinery Network Auctions and PPL Group.

“COVID 19 supply chain disruptions have created this opportunity at the exact time when global automotive companies are looking for ways to shorten the supply chain from Asia to North America,” said Gary Treisman of Machinery Network Auctions. “This particular plant was a victim of timing as they recently purchased millions of dollars of new manufacturing equipment just before the economy shut down.”

The auction includes twelve Toshiba and Haitian single and dual shot injection molding machines from 240 Ton machines up to 1430 Tons and as late as 2019, with robotics and a huge assortment of support equipment. In addition, there is a complete Chrome Plating system with water treatment equipment and over 20 tons of copper and 20 tons of nickel. The facility was set up at a cost of more than $20 million in 2017.

“It’s exciting to see equipment this new available at auction,” said Gary Treisman. “With supply chains disrupted and lead times extending many months for new equipment, this is an opportunity for manufacturers to acquire equipment today.” There are rigging and transportation companies on-site who can provide quotes to dismantle and deliver various pieces of equipment throughout North America.

All of the injection molding, chrome plating, drying, testing and other equipment will be auctioned at a webcast auction on Thursday, May 12 at 10:00 am local time. Equipment including components of the Chrome Plating line may be available to be sold before the Auction. Interested parties can contact Fernando Zuniga (ZFernando@HilcoGlobal.mx / 52 (55) 5980-8226) and Seth Geller (Seth@MachineryNetwork.com / 818-465-6700). Onsite inspection is available on May 9-11 from 9 am to 4 pm and otherwise by appointment only. Appointments must be scheduled 48 hours in advance.

Steve Napieralski, president at OZ Lifting, said: “The products go hand in hand. We saw a need in the market for spark resistant manual chain hoists, and if you are going to offer them, you typically will be hanging the equipment from a trolley that also needs to be spark resistant. However, the products can work independently of each other. You might have a situation where the manual chain hoist doesn’t need to travel down an I-beam and is fixed in one location. And the trolley can accommodate either one of our manual spark resistant hoists or one that is powered.”

Explosive atmospheres

Potentially explosive atmospheres exist in many areas of industry. These explosive zones carry extremely strict guidelines and equipment requirements that standard catalog items cannot meet.

Both the new chain hoists and trolleys are manufactured in compliance with the EU’s explosion-proof standard ATEX94/9/EC and Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC. They can operate at explosion levels EX II2 GD c IIIC T135 C and are suitable for use in Zones 1 and 2 (gas) as well as Zones 21 and 22 (dust). The term “explosion proof” usually applies to electric-driven products, versus “spark resistant” for those operated mechanically, as Napieralski reiterated.

Key features of the hoists include unique hand wheel design; minimal load lifting effort; fully enclosed gearing; stainless steel or copper components; totally enclosed gearing; and suitability to lifting and pulling applications. The push beam trolleys, meanwhile, boast copper-plated trolley wheels and lifting bale; copper riveted identification tags; precision ball bearing trolley wheels; anti-drop plate; and compatibility with most I-, S-, and W-beams. Both products come with individual test certificate and serial number.

OZ Lifting will show its full range of davit cranes, hoists, and lifting components at MODEX 2022 (Booth B2926) on 28-31 March at Atlanta’s Georgia World Congress Center.

The company excels in managing the supply and installation of standard and explosion-proof air-powered/electric hoists, while another strong business area is hoist hire, an offer that includes higher capacity air/electric hoists. As one of many market differentiators with its competitors, the company also offers installation services for rental hoists.

Although Hoist and Winch serve a number of sectors, the company is particularly at home supplying demanding industries such as heavy construction, cement production, petrochemical, offshore, marine, mining, and tunneling, many of which require explosion-proof equipment.

In-person and online sales
The Hoist and Winch distribution, hire and workshop facility is centrally located in the Midlands, at Alcester. However, the company also offers the facility to purchase many items of lifting and winching equipment online, whether for standard or ATEX environments. In addition, material handling equipment and height safety products are also available via the website.

A notable part of the business is exporting: the company exports all order values, from spare parts and small items, up to complete packages of lifting equipment comprising a mixture of powered/manual hoists, overhead cranes and ancillaries. Hoist and Winch has built up a strong working relationship with a number of key freight forwarders, exporting equipment to Africa, Asia, Australia, Central Europe, the Middle East and South America.

Project Engineering

Alongside the supply of standard lifting equipment for both domestic and export markets, Hoist and Winch provides full project engineering capability. The company offers a proven and highly competent track record in the delivery of special projects. Areas of expertise include the oil and gas industry, explosion-proof lifting equipment for a variety of hazardous industries, and non-standard bespoke solutions to satisfy the particular requirements of customers.

A complete turnkey project solution from Hoist and Winch comprises: initial consultation and assessment of application requirements; proposal development involving exchange of relevant information; submission of proposal; contract award; final design and submission of drawings; project management; installation, commissioning and test; handover; and ongoing service and maintenance support.

Extensive Service Provision

Beyond the products themselves, primary among the Hoist and Winch service portfolio is the installation, commissioning, testing and LOLER certification of all types of lifting equipment, material handling equipment and height safety products. The company has an extensive range of rigging equipment required to carry out a wide variety of installation work and this is included in in the cost. In certain cases it is possible to hire specialist items of rigging or lifting equipment to provide specific functions.

The service, repair and inspection of lifting equipment can take place on-site or remotely. Hoist and Winch has expertise in the servicing of manual, air, hydraulic and electric powered hoists, cranes and winches. Further specialties include the design, supply, installation, testing and LOLER certification of hoist runway monorail beams, as well as light crane and monorail profile tracks (up to 2000 kg safe working load).

Moving forward, Hoist and Winch is looking to further expand its product sales, online presence, export business and project engineering success. With the company’s impressive track record to date, few would bet against this progressive business winning even more market share.

Providing high productivity and energy-efficient operation in all torque ranges, these new cast-iron NEMA motors are built to power pumps, fans, compressors, hoists, winders and similar equipment in harsh environments.  With a three-year warranty, the SD200 motors offer 75-800 hp output and feature 444-5013 cast-iron frames for operation in 460V and 575V ranges.  They meet or exceed NEMA Premium^® MG1 Table 12-12 efficiencies.  A wide selection of options is offered, including IP56 ingress protection, encoders, brakes, and blowers plus others to suit the applications presented.

On these motors, the frame, end-shields, fan guard and easy-access, diagonally split, oversized terminal box are all cast-iron.  Complementing this construction are zinc-plated hardware, epoxy paint and stainless-steel nameplates for long life and easy identification in the field.  A unique offset rotor bar provides improved efficiency, while larger bars and end rings reduce resistance.  Each die-cast aluminum rotor assembly is dynamically balanced for extended bearing life and includes a high-strength C1045 carbon steel shaft for maximum performance.  Premium C5-grade steel laminations and copper magnet wire are standard.

For insulation, the Class-H non-hygroscopic system with NEMA Class B temperature rise provides an extra margin of thermal life.  The insulation system meets or exceeds NEMA MG1 2014 Part 31, making these motors suitable for variable speed drives in constant torque (4:1) and variable torque (20:1).  All windings are tested for Corona Inception Voltage (CIV).

The Siemens Product Manager for Low-Voltage NEMA Motors, Oscar Palafox, explains, “One of the features of the SD200 is its flexibility in the field, as the motor can be switched from F1 to F2 and F3 orientation with ease.  Plus, the safety features on this new line are unmatched by competition.  Full H-Class conformity provides winding protection, while the swivel hooks are a significant improvement over eyehooks for handling of these heavy units.  In addition, the unique Siemens composite insulation on the SD200 is a cost-saver over the ceramic bearing alternative with ten times the resistance of other solutions in the market.  Finally, the NEMA Premium^® efficiency is a guarantee of long performance life with very tight deviation of losses.  Shaft current remains more consistent for better uptime.”  Palafox further notes this new line affords users Division II, Class 1 (gas) and Class 2 (dust) protection.

Steve Napieralski, president at OZ Lifting, said: “If you know the weight of your load, our whole industrial range is perfect. The line of chain hoists has almost limitless applications, which allows us to market these hoists so broadly. Whether you’re hanging them from a beam clamp or trolley, or lifting any load now up to 5 tons, these hoists offer high quality at a fair price—a hallmark of our entire catalog.”

The effort required to lift using these hoists is consistent through the entire range and that of the company’s premium line, which is equipped with overload protection. The net weight of the product ranges from 4.7 lbs. on the lightest unit, up to 40 lbs. and 52 lbs. on the 3-ton and 5-ton models respectively. Standard heights of lift are 10 ft., 15 ft., 20 ft., and 30 ft., but custom rigging is available on both the hand and Grade 80 alloy load chain.

Napieralski said: “The all-steel construction, zinc-plated hand chain, long-lasting powder-coat finish, and fully-enclosed gearing, remain integral features of the line [of hoists] but, really, it is now the breadth of capacity range that channel partners and end users alike have noted. In stock and ready for sale, I expect the 3-ton and 5-ton capacity models to be just as popular as the existing, lower capacity products.”

Additional product features include forged alloy steel hooks, Weston-style brake system, thrust bearing on lower hook twin pawl, heavy-duty latches, and conformity with CE, ASME B30.16, and AS1418.2 standards. Each hoist is rigged, load tested, and comes with an individual test certificate, and extra set of latches.

The beam, which is 86 in. between the j-style hooks and 95.75 in. from end-to-end, is designed for unbalanced loads. In the end user’s application, it is common for a roll to be slightly off-center and the operator would previously have to handle the load or below-the-hook equipment to straighten it.

These substrate rolls must be lifted into place during an important phase of the production process. The method employed by this end user is unique, not because of its utilization of the beam, but in its incorporation of Caldwell’s load leveler product. The concept, which balances the roll before a worker performs the next operation, is operated by two pendant push-buttons.

Caldwell was initially given the nature of the material handling problem, in addition to the weight, width, height of rolls, and distance between the cradle support. Based on this, it was decided that a combination roll lifting beam and leveler would best suit the user’s requirements. The attachment works beneath the hook of Harrington Hoists’ equipment, to which it is attached by a hook and latch system. The lifter’s bottom hooks are not designed for side-loading, but they can pivot laterally. These j-hooks extend approx. 50 in. in length and are designed to handle a specific mandrel diameter.

Darrin Noe, director of sales at Caldwell, said: “A red / green indicator light notifies the operator that the leveler has engaged and which direction the bail is adjusting to accommodate for the load’s center of gravity location. The leveler can be used to adjust the lifter bail as needed to find the center of gravity. Once the leveler indicates a level lift, the operator can continue to move, rotate, and position the load as needed.”

Caldwell’s leveler, originally used strictly for the Posi-Turner product, is now used in multiple applications where it is beneficial to have a control system that senses when a load is out of level and automatically activates the leveling adjustment on the lifter to level the load. Besides added speed and efficiency, the leveling option brings added safety to many types of lifting requirements by allowing the operator to stand a safe distance from the suspended load.”